Trials and Tribulations
by MariatheWordsmith
Summary: A long lost Gage family member is in LA on a work trip. After an embarrassing accident, she had to call 911. LA's best medic duo respond to the call. Will Johnny find family he didn't know he had?
1. Chapter One

**Chapter One**

"_Squad 51, woman advises her hand is stuck in an ice machine located on the second floor. Squad 51 is proceeding, time out 0204."_

There was a pregnant pause in the cab of the ambulance while the two digested the information.

"I don't get it. I mean, how do you get your hand stuck in an ice maker? It just doesn't make sense Roy." Johnny complained, "Why don't people just call maintenance, or, not get ice at 2AM!" Johnny threw his hands up in the air while Roy smirked from the driver's seat. He knew better than to interrupt his partner, in hopes that the rant would be shorter, theoretically. "It's this one." Johnny said changing tone while pointing at a two-story inn.

"Let's get this over with." Roy said while he statused them on the scene, picking up the portable radio. "At least they left the lights on for us." He deadpanned.

"Ha Ha." Johnny replied rolling his eyes. The pair walked up the stairs and began wandering the hallways looking for the dreaded ice machine. Roy came to a door frame, he looked in and stopped in his tracks. There was a lady hunched over an ice machine. This lady had the exact same profile of his partner. Hearing the noise, the stuck woman turned her head around.

Roy shook himself and cleared his throat, "Ma'am, did you call paramedics?"

A very anxious voice replied, "I did, my hand's stuck in this damn thing."

Roy's 'paramedic' voice answered the lady, "Don't worry, we'll get you out, let me grab my partner." Roy walked back out hunting for his partner, not wanting to yell down the hallway at 2 am. Roy spotted him and waved him over.

Johnny walked into the ice room and looked at the patient, his jaw dropped. He quickly closed his mouth and put on his 'professional' face after he heard Roy politely clear his throat and ask the woman her name. "Jane Maddox." she replied. Johnny walked over to the lady and looked at her hand, which was stuck up to the wrist in the ice machine.

"My name's John, what happened ma'am?" Johnny asked.

"It sounds stupid, but when I pressed the button, nothing came out. I looked up and saw the ice all frozen together, so I thought that I could break it up. Obviously, I couldn't…" Both medics refrained from rolling their eyes and got right to business.

"Any jewelry or any recent injuries to your hand?" Roy asked.

The lady answered no to both questions and added, "Call me Jane."

After much finagling and lubrication, the hand was removed from the ice machine. It was swollen and bleeding slightly from some abrasions. The pair had to work hard to convince Jane to go to the hospital to make sure it wasn't broken. In the hospital, Johnny wrote the call report. He paused for a moment and asked, "Jane, what's your address?" She rattled off an answer. He diligently wrote it down, vowing to remember all her demographics.

Patient care transferred, the two drove back to the station. Johnny piped up while they were driving, "Roy?" he said questioningly, "Did she look like me or was it just me?"

"Oh, she looked like you. You're nearly identical, she could've been your twin."

Johnny bit his lip, "I thought so." The rest of the shift he was uncharacteristically silent. Roy was concerned, but decided to wait for Johnny to come to him. There was one thing he learned about his partner. If you forced him to talk, he'd clam up, it's better to wait.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Jane sat in the waiting room of the Emergency room thinking about the medic who looked like her. A blond nurse called her name, bringing her out of her thoughts. She stood up, keeping the ice pack on her hand given to her two rescuers. "Jane Maddox?" the nurse confirmed. She nodded her head. The nurse led her out of the waiting room, "So what happened to your hand?" Jane bit her lip and repeated the story. The nurse smiled, "Same thing happened to me, except the culprit was a vending machine." she said with a smirk. "A doctor will be right in." The nurse closed the door behind her. Jane sat on the table in the treatment room and looked around. Her eyes wandered over the strange equipment, wondering how anyone could remember what all of it did. Half an hour later, there was a knock on the door. A man in green scrubs walked in.

"Mrs. Maddox?" the man asked.

"Ms. but yes."

"Ah," the doctor stared at her for a moment then continued. "My name's Doctor Morton, so what happened to your hand?" he asked as he pulled a stool over, sitting down. Jane repeated the story. She decided that no matter how many times she repeated it, it didn't get less embarrassing. "We'll get some pictures, but I don't think it's broken." He said palpating it, having removed the bandage while she talked. "A nurse will be right in to re-bandage it, you've got some abrasions."

"Thanks" she replied halfheartedly. True to the doctor's words, the same nurse walked into her room carrying supplies a little while later.

"Here we go." she said, laying her supplies on a table next to the bed. "My name's Dixie by the way." Dixie methodically wrapped the bandage, "This shouldn't take too long, we'll try and get you outta here pretty quick."

"Thanks," Jane replied. She decided to take a chance, "Do you happen to know the men who brought me in?" Jane asked, hopeful at the answer.

Dixie smiled warmly, "As a matter of fact, I do. Paramedics John Gage and Roy DeSoto. The best two medics in LA County." Dixie couldn't help but dote on her favorite medics.

"Which one was the black haired one?" Jane asked.

"That would be John Gage, they're both at station 51." Dixie smirked when she thought about the chaos that was Johnny Gage.

"Thanks." Jane replied thoughtfully.

"All done, a tech should be in soon to get a picture of your hand." Dixie declared, throwing away all the trash and leaving the room with a smile.

Jane only just returned to the treatment room after X-rays when Dixie came rushing in. She was carrying a handful of supplies and a young woman was following her with more. Dixie spoke up, "I'm sorry Ms. Maddox, we're going to have to ask you to move. We have a critical case coming in." Jane stood up immediately, recognizing the tone of voice in which Dixie used, the tone of 'no nonsense'.

"I can wait in the waiting room." Jane said.

"Sharon, show her where to go." Dixie ordered with her back already turned. She was already cleaning the table and stretcher and beginning to set up the equipment. "I need you back in here right away, Doctor Brackett's going to need all the help he can get." The young nurse, named Sharon, showed Jane out. Not quick enough, as they were walking out, a stretcher was being wheeled in. Jane recognized her rescuers, now both soaking wet and leaving a muddy trail behind them. One was running behind it squeezing an oxygen mask, while the other straddled the stretcher giving CPR.

"Oh my." Jane whispered at the sight. Her and the black-haired medic locked eyes as he disappeared behind the door. A handful of people followed behind, putting on gloves or carrying more equipment.


	2. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two**

Johnny shook his head to focus as the stretcher was wheeled in, water spraying from his soaked hair. He heard Roy talking in the background, "We shocked twice more on the way in, we're in asystole now." Doctor Brackett nodded. Johnny kept straddling the patient, giving CPR, as they were slid over to the bed. Sharon came running back into the room and stood off to the side waiting for orders.

Doctor Brackett saw her, "Sharon, take over for Johnny." Sharon nodded, she walked over to the bed and stood up on the rails. Johnny got off the stretcher rubbing his wrists, relieved at the break. He walked away from the clump of people and leaned against the wall, watching. After another nurse took over bagging the patient, Roy joined him. He grabbed a couple towels from the cabinets and offered one to Johnny.

"That was a bad one." Roy unnecessarily said as he dried his hair. Johnny nodded as he was still catching his breath after a half hour of CPR. They sat in silence as they watched the well-oiled team work.

Doctor Morton came in moments later, he walked up to the patient and said, "Sorry I'm late, what's the story?" Kelly nodded his head towards the medics.

Roy spoke up, "He was driving home, crashed his car into a ditch. A bystander called when they saw car lights underwater. He was under for at least eight minutes. When we first hooked him up to the monitor, he was in sinus tach, then he bradyed down. We gave 'im atropine with no effect. We shocked twice on the way in with epi's on board. When we got here, we had asystole on our monitor." Morton nodded and joined his attending at the bedside.

"We're in PEA!" Brackett announced, "Dix, give 50 amps of bicarb, see how he does with that." Dixie nodded and picked up an already filled syringe and injected it into his IV line. "Can we get another line?" the Doctor asked anyone free.

"On it" Dixie replied. She deftly found another vein and quickly set up another IV.

Johnny and Roy walked out of the treatment room moments later, towels around their necks and their shoes squelching. They didn't want to watch their patient die, he had just underwater too long. They dejectedly walked to the doctor's lounge looking for a cup of coffee. "We did all we could Junior." Roy said, without much conviction behind it.

"I know," Johnny replied, "Still sucks." Roy nodded and took a sip of the hot strong coffee. "I can't wait until we can change out of our wet clothes." Johnny added. "It's like walking around in cardboard." Roy nodded again. After they finished their cups of terrible hospital coffee, they walked out, looking for Dixie so they could restock. They knew they wouldn't find her in the treatment room.

"I'm sorry guys," she said, "He was just under too long." She looked up in sorrow from the counter

"We know." they replied in unison. Johnny added and trailed off, "We have a pretty long restock list..."

Dixie nodded, "I figured as much, what do a couple of soaked medics need?"

"Let's start with a size 8 ET tube, a BVM, an IV kit, atropine,..." as Johnny rattled off equipment and meds, Roy noticed the lady they rescued from the ice machine earlier. She quickly looked away when she was caught staring.

"Hey Dix," Roy said. Dixie turned around from the restock cabinet expectantly. "How's that lady's hand we took in earlier?"

Dixie smiled, "Not broken, she should be discharged when Morton gets a chance to talk to her." She looked at Johnny, "She was asking about a certain medic." she said with a smirk.

Johnny looked up from the growing pile of supplies, "Wha'?" not paying attention as he concentrated.

"The lady you brought in; she was asking about you." Dixie smirked again.

"Oh, how is she?" Johnny repeated his partner's question. Dixie rolled her eyes and answered while Roy looked thoughtful and stole another glance at the mysterious lady.

Morton walked out of the treatment room and over to the pair of medics at the counter. "How long did you say he was under again?" he asked.

"At least eight, ten minutes" Roy replied.

Morton nodded, "Good job guys," he added. "That one was tough, good job staying with him." There was a moment of silence then he said to Johnny "Did you notice the resemblance between you and your hand lady?" he asked.

Roy nodded answering for his partner, "Could've been Johnny's twin."

Dixie looked at her in the patient waiting room then back at Johnny, _"They do look alike, different complexions though." _Dixie thought.

Johnny looked off in the distance, chewing on the end of his green pen. A distant "Yeah." was all he said on the matter. Chet suddenly appeared at the counter. Like the medics, he was dripping water all over the hallway. He looked sheepishly and shrugged at the custodian who was glaring at him, all three of them.

"Thanks for driving the squad in." Roy said when they were all scrunched in the squad going back to the station. "We needed both hands." Chet nodded.

"I'm sorry you lost him." Chet replied. There was silence on the rest of the way back.

Roy backed the squad into the station and the three soaked firefighters headed for the locker rooms, looking forward to changing into dry uniforms. Johnny sat on the bench in front of his locker, instead of chewing his pen, he was twirling it in his fingers, lost in thought. Footsteps brought him out of his reverie, "I'm coming Roy." he said with a touch of irritation in his voice. When he looked up, he wasn't looking at his partner, he was looking at Captain Stanley. "Oh, sorry sir." he said standing up.

"It's okay John, I just came in to tell you there's fresh coffee in the day room. None of us thought it was worth going back to sleep." Johnny nodded, sitting back down to finish tying his shoelace he had forgotten about. "You okay?" the Captain asked, concerned about his youngest medic. "Chet told me you lost 'im."

"Yeah, I'm good Captain, I'll be right in." Hank looked surprised at the obvious dismissal and formal use of his rank. Even though he was new to this crew, this didn't seem to be normal behavior from the exuberant man.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Jane was in a taxi going back to her hotel. The doctor told her it wasn't broken, but she should ice it at least three times a day. Jane smiled at the irony, the thing that caused her injury, would be vital to heal it. Back in her room she glanced at her watch. "If it's 6 am here, then it's 9 in Maine." she muttered thinking out loud. She picked up the phone in her hotel room and gave the number to the operator. The phone rang three times, then someone picked up, "Hey Mom." Jane said.


	3. Chapter Three

**Chapter Three**

Roy woke up to someone sitting next to him in bed. He sat up quickly, automatically swinging his legs over. He looked around taking in his surroundings. A hand rested on his shoulder, "Just me Roy." a feminine voice spoke behind him.

"Sorry Jo," he said, finally recognizing his surroundings. "What time is it?"

"It's about twelve thirty, Jenny will be out of school in about an hour."

"Thanks." Roy turned back around and faced his wife, kissing her.

"How was your shift last night?" Joann asked.

Roy thought about how to best answer that question. He tried to leave the grisly details out as much as possible, she didn't need to hear about what he saw. "Well, we ran into a twin of Johnny's." he finally decided on.

"I didn't know Johnny had a twin." she said in surprise.

"He doesn't. He doesn't ever talk about his childhood. I can only imagine why. I'm worried about him Jo. He was quiet the rest of the shift, quiet!" He repeated the word gesturing with his hands.

"I'm sure it'll all work out, it always does."

Roy sighed as he crawled out of bed. "I can pick up Jenny and Chris today. I think I'll take them to the park." he paused before asking, "If they don't have anything else planned?"

Joann smiled, thankful for the reprieve her husband was offering her. "They don't, Chris would love to play catch, his game's tomorrow." Roy smiled at the thought of playing baseball with his son. He was thankful that he had such a wonderful family to come home to after shifts. His joy turned to worry, Johnny didn't have that.

An hour later, Roy was driving the station wagon to Chris' school. He had a backpack in the trunk, in it held the DeSoto necessities. His five year old was talking his ear off. "And then, he _talked back_ to Ms. Bell, can you believe that daddy?" she asked incredulously.

Roy smiled, "That _is_ crazy Jenny." he said. "What did Ms. Bell do?" Jenny answered with gusto as they turned into the middle school's parking lot. He grimaced at the long line of cars waiting. "Jenny," Roy said, interrupting her run-on sentences, "What do you think of going to the park?"

Jenny's eyes lit up, "Then you can push me on the swings, and I can draw!" Her excitement came to an immediate halt and she accusingly asked "Did you bring chalk daddy?"

"I sure did sweatpea." came the quick reply. Jenny squealed in response. When the car finally reached the front of the line, Roy's son Chris hopped in, throwing his backpack on the car floor. "Seat-belt." he advised his son.

"I know, it's on dad." Chris rolled his eyes at his over cautious father. "Where we going?" Chris asked when Roy turned the opposite direction from home.

"I figured we'd go to the park." Roy smiled.

"Aww man," Chris replied, "Can we stop at home? I don't have my glove." Chris dejectedly said.

"I have it champ and mine." Roy grinned, looking forward to spending the afternoon with his kids. Maybe they would grill for dinner. Roy made a mental note to talk to Joann about it when they got home.

After a full day at the park, the three DeSoto's walked into their house. Well, two walked, the youngest was carried, she fell asleep in the car. Roy gave the keys to Chris to unlock the house, he was very proud. Joann smiled at the entourage and took Jenny from her husband's arms. "Any homework?" he asked his son, his hands now free.

"Do I have too?" he complained, "We just got home, and it's Friday." he slumped on the couch.

"Well, if we get a head start, you won't have any to do after your game."

"I guess." came the reluctant reply. Christ stood up and dragged his backpack to the dining room table. Roy smirked as he watched his child act as if they were torturing him. His thoughts wandered back to Johnny, wondering if he hated homework as much as Chris when he was a kid.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Jane walked into her hotel room carrying her bag after her first full day at her conference. She had been peppered with questions by her coworkers and peers about her hand. Red faced, she answered them. Done with people for the day, she threw her bag on the desk and slumped on the bed. After a moment, she propped herself up on an elbow and pulled a notebook out of her bag. She flipped through it, going over her notes and trying to concentrate. She loved teaching, but hated unnecessary learning, oh the irony. A post it note fell out of her notebook and she looked at it. On it were notes she had taken during her phone call with her mother. There was a name on it, _'Roderick Gage, Lakota Reservation.' _He was her had been difficult getting answers out of her mother Roberta. Jane was never told about her past, until that morning.

Her mom ended the phone conversation with, "If there's a chance he's alive and a good man, find him Jane."

Jane finally learned the story of her parents that morning. It was shocking and terrible. Her mother was born and raised on a reservation. And she, Jane Maddox, was born out of wedlock to a white man. Because her father was white, he wasn't allowed on the reservation, at all. So her mother snuck out to meet with him. Ten months into their relationship, she was pregnant. They hid her pregnancy from everyone except her friend and sister in law. The sister in law tragically died in a car accident soon after. Roberta had lost all protection her sister in law offered. Knowing Roberta wouldn't be protected, they started planning an elopement. Roderick, Jane's uncle, soon discovered the pregnancy. Jane had been told that her Uncle was not a good man, he became worse after his wife's sudden death and his son's survival. Her parents pulled all their money together and saved. After saving for months, they finally had enough to buy bus tickets. They fled Montana hoping for a fresh start at life, which they found in Maine.

Jane was told all of this right before she was to attend a continuing education conference in which she had to pay attention. Needless to say, she didn't remember much that day. She looked through her feeble notes. "I'll have to pay more attention tomorrow." she said out loud to the empty room. On the post it note, she wrote in _"Paramedic John Gage, station 51." _


	4. Chapter Four

**Chapter Four**

Johnny spent the first of his three days off sleeping, or trying too. Unlike Roy, he had no one to wake him. Therefore, he woke up to the unpleasant sound of his phone ringing. Before picking it up, he glanced at the clock. It read 1515. Picking the phone up he said, "John Gage." Johnny inwardly groaned when he heard the LA County radio on the other end.

"We need a replacement at 8's." a voice informed him.

"Is everyone okay?" Johnny asked, initial feelings replaced with worry.

"Captain Stone's lineman got overheated in a fire and Rampart won't clear him for duty."

"Give me an hour, I'll be right over." Johnny hung up the phone. His plans for the day rapidly going down the drain. He decided not to worry about his 'twin', and deal with it tomorrow. He shoved all thoughts and emotions regarding that into a neat little box and locked it up, something he was good at. Changing gears, he rapidly dumped out his duffel bag from his last shift. His uniform unceremoniously fell to the ground in a heap. He threw some folded clean pants in the bag, socks, a few boxers, and his only pair of dry uniform shoes. He looked in his closet, "Damn" he cursed. There were only two uniform shirts hanging. "I'll have to go to the dry cleaners tomorrow." He grabbed the clean shirts and ran to his living room. The duffel he threw on the chair and the shirts he draped on the back. Returning to the pile of clothes, he pulled out the soaking pants and shoes and put them in the bathtub to dry. "Hopefully they'll dry quicker here." he muttered to himself. He hastily made a cup of coffee and ate some dry cereal. "Guess I won't get to the grocery store either." he grumbled. He chugged his remaining coffee, and put the empty bowl and cup into the sink. Grabbing his keys, duffel bag, and shirts, he walked out the door.

Captain Stone was waiting for Johnny in the station parking lot, they were out of service anyway. When the familiar white range rover pulled in, Stone smiled. "Hey Johnny" he greeted his friend when Johnny got out of his car.

"Morning." Johnny replied grabbing his duffel bag, shirts, helmet, and bunker gear out of the trunk. Squinting, Stone looked up at the sun which was getting ready to set.

"Morning?" he inquired, adding, "Let me take something." he reached his hands out and grabbed Johnny's bunker gear and helmet, looking at the 51 and the medic emblem.

"Morning for me, just got up. And be careful," Johnny grinned, "People will think you're getting soft." he said teasingly. Turning serious he asked, "Your guy okay Stoney?" concern lacing his voice.

"Yeah," Stone sighed, "I told him to break while he could, but the man's too stubborn for his own good. Guess I should have made it an order."

Johnny freed a hand to slap his friend on the back, "It happens, people forget their limits. I bet he won't forget again for a while. A trip to Rampart will do that for ya." They both chuckled as they walked into the station. As Johnny set up his gear on the wagon, the klaxons sounded. "Here we go." he said, shaking his fellow lineman's hand in greeting as the engine sped down the street.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Roy dialed his friends' number. John didn't pick up. He hung up the phone, deciding how worried he should be. He opted to not worry too much when Joann called dinner, he did promise himself to call again after dinner. His idea of grilling was squashed when they came home and the house smelled of lasagna. Roy wasn't upset though, Joann's lasagna was known throughout the neighborhood and fire department. It's recipe well sought after. He sat down looking at his family. Chris was holding a magazine above his plate. "Put that down." Joann said to him, "We're about to eat."

"But mom, it's an interview with the one and only Yogi Berra!" Chris argued.

Roy hid a smile, "Yogi Berra will be there after dinner." he said, hoping that would end it. It did, Chris huffed and put it down. There were soon sounds of content munching around the table. "What position is your coach putting you in tomorrow?" Roy asked his son.

"Shortstop, as usual. I like it, you have a lot of roles. Plus," he added proudly, "Coach said I'm the best grounder!" Joann and Roy shared a look, smiling at their son's excitement.

"Can't wait to see it champ." Roy replied with just the right amount of excitement. "Johnny said he might try and stop by."

"That would be awesome!" Chris said with a mouthful of lasagna, manners forgotten at the notion of baseball, his dad, and his Uncle.

"Close your mouth" Joann said sternly.

Chris closed his mouth and looked down, "Sorry." he muttered. He dared a glance up, no one was mad. He smiled again thinking about tomorrow.

Jenny however, was not about to be left out, "Mommy, can we see Uncle Johnny tomorrow? We have to draw together."

"Jenny, we're going on a field trip tomorrow, with your friends remember?" Joann said, hoping it would help. It didn't.

"But, Uncle Johnny won't be there." she dejectedly replied, appearing to literally deflate.

"Well, maybe we can invite Uncle Johnny for dinner. But," Joann said before she got her kid's hopes up, "We have to ask him." She said the last part a bit sternly. "Uncle Johnny is busy, he might say no."

After the kids were tucked into bed and the dishes washed, Roy and Joann sat on the couch, each with a glass of wine. Roy tried calling his friend again, but to no avail. "I hope I didn't speak out of turn with Johnny. I asked him yesterday and he said he was free and would stop by."

Joann put her hand on his shoulder in comfort. "I'm sure he will, you know how he is with our kids. He wouldn't disappoint them for the world."


	5. Chapter Five

**Chapter Five**

Johnny woke up to the morning klaxons. He was disoriented for a moment, then remembered he was at 8. He rolled out of bed, groaning as he did so. His night had been quieter, since he was on the engine, but working two days in a row always messed with his sleep schedule. Now, his non-existent sleep schedule. He walked over to the extra empty lockers they had and pulled out the uniform shirt he hung there before going to bed. He slid down the pole into the main bay, mainly since 51 didn't have one. He thought he might as well enjoy it while he could. Then he followed his nose to the smell of coffee. The medics on the squad were sitting at the table reading the newspaper. "Didn't go back to sleep after that last one?" he asked in sympathy.

"Nah, wasn't worth it by the time we got back. Coffee's fresh."

"Thanks," Johnny replied, pouring himself a cup. He grabbed the discarded section of newspaper on the table, looking at the comics. Captain Stone chose that moment to walk in. He laughed at Johnny, the experienced firefighter, rescue man, and paramedic, reading the comics. Johnny looked up at his laughing friend. He decided to have some fun. "Laugh all you want Stoney, I won't tell the crew what book's in your locker right now." He held the newspaper in front of his face smugly. He had no idea what book was in his friend's locker, or even if there was one, but hopefully the other people in the room would fall for the bluff. Station 8's medics heads shot up in curiosity, Johnny grinned broadly.

Stone frowned, "Very funny Gage." he said, not angry at all at his friend and fellow medic, who clearly had no idea the only books in his locker were the department's general orders and the protocols. "Feel free to look." he said to the room, adding a last joke. No one in the station would have the guts to look in The Captain's locker, no matter the curiosity. Johnny frowned at being one upped, but let it go as he drank his coffee. Stone felt Gage's annoyance leaking from behind the newspaper, "Can't win them all my friend." he said smugly pouring his own cup of coffee. The two medics rolled their eyes, realizing they had been had.

"I hope C shift gets here soon, I've got a load of stuff to do today." Johnny complained. Stone raised his eyes in question. "Everything was pushed back a day since I'm here."

"Ahh," Stone said, "Sorry, we've all been there." Johnny nodded, glancing at his watch. It read 0640.

"Pretty sure my dry cleaner opens at 7." Johnny muttered under his breath. Stone smirked at the man, reading the comics and discussing his dry cleaners' hours.

C shift shortly arrived. Johnny cleared his gear off the engine and packed up the empty locker. His first stop was home. He showered quickly and made a small breakfast, his fridge still empty. When he was done, he threw all his dirty uniform shirts and pants into a bag. "Do they do shoes?" he asked himself. "Pretty sure they don't." he answered. He shrugged, putting the still damp shoes on the window sill in the sun. He then jotted down a quick grocery list. _"Joann would be proud." _ he thought. Before Joann's 'lesson', he just randomly shopped. Now, he made a list every trip. He got more out of his food and saved money. Thinking of Joann led him to think about her kids, "Shit!" he cursed. Chris had a game today. "What time did Roy say?" he asked out loud. Try as he might, he couldn't remember. He glanced at his watch. 0813, "Maybe it's a 10 am game. Could be 9." He looked at his grocery list written on yellow paper. "The yellow pages!" he exclaimed, jumping up from the table. He looked up the Boys and Girls club game days and hours. The yellow pages said, 'All baseball game times are at 9:30 am on Saturdays'. "Just about an hour." he muttered. He finished the rest of his meager breakfast and headed out the door.

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Jane sat at a table. She was surrounded by her fellow coworkers from school also attending the conference. She was taking actual notes this time and paying attention and was rather proud of it. At the end of that presentation, she walked over to the presenter. She knew he was a local, as all of his statistics were from LA County. She introduced herself and asked if she happened to know where station 51 was. "Oh sure, that's the newer station up in Carson. I used to be the guidance counselor at the school nearby." Jane thanked him and wrote _'Carson'_ on her post it note.

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Roy sat in the bleachers, the game was about to start. Chris was standing watching the pitcher warm up, his hands clutching the fence. Roy saw him and waved, excited to actually be there to watch a game. He glanced around nervously, looking for his partner, hoping the man was okay. The umpire called out "Play ball!" Roy ripped his gaze from the parking lot to home plate. Chris stood in the on-deck circle, his eyes squinted in concentration. Roy clapped and yelled the team name. "Strike three!" the umpire yelled after a few moments. Roy clapped and yelled his son's name encouragingly when he stepped into the batter's box. Roy suddenly felt a presence sitting down next to him.

"What did I miss?" a gravely, yet familiar voice asked. Relief poured over Roy at the sound of his partner's voice. His relief quickly turned to worry at the sight of his friend.

The man looked tired and haggard, there were bags under his eyes. "What happened to you?" Roy asked, looking him over for injuries.

"Nothing. I was called to cover 8's lineman yesterday. What'd I miss?" Johnny repeated. He clapped and yelled Chris' name while he waited for his partner's answer.

"Not much, the first kid struck out." Johnny nodded and focused on the game. Roy asked, "Everyone okay on Stoney's shift?"

He answered without looking away, "Yeah, his lineman got heat exhaustion and Morton wouldn't release him." Roy nodded, relieved that no one was seriously injured.

"Hey Johnny," Roy ventured between innings, "Want to come to dinner? Pretty sure we're grilling."

"Jenny jealous?" Johnny asked with a hint of a smile on his face.

"Green as a Grinch." Roy deadpanned, then copied the smile. They clapped and cheered when Chris ran out of the dugout and took his place at shortstop. Chris saw them and waved excitedly.

"I've got some stuff to do before, but I'll make it over for dinner." Roy smiled in response. Over the course of the next hour, they cheered on the younger DeSoto.


	6. Chapter Six

**Chapter Six**

Jane walked out of the conference building, she waved to her coworkers as they shared a taxi back to the hotel. She flagged another taxi, gulping nervously as she did so. Once the yellow car pulled up, she opened the door and sat down. Buckling her seat belt, she instructed the driver to Station 51, Carson. Jane twiddled a pen in her hand, hoping to dissipate the nerves. _"It's normal to want to thank your rescuers, right?" _She thought. "I must be crazy." she muttered under her breath.

"What's that lady?" the driver asked.

"Nothing, can you wait for me outside?"

"Sure can." the driver replied enthusiastically, looking forward to the wage.

The taxi pulled into the visitor parking spot in front of the station. She walked up to the door, and rang the doorbell. An older looking man walked out of the front office and greeted her, while another man emerged from behind the squad. The second man stood to the back, in case he was needed. "What can I do for you ma'am?" the older man politely said.

"I'm looking for Paramedic John Gage." she timidly said.

"Are you now?" he said with a smile, he turned around and shook his head, indicating he didn't need the other man. "Gage isn't in today, his shift'll be back on Monday. Want to leave a message for him?"

Jane nodded her head, "Uh, thanks." she said. The man opened the door, letting her inside the building. He led her a few steps to the small office and handed her a piece of scrap paper and a pen. She jotted a note down. "Thanks Mr..." she trailed off

"Captain, Captain Dennis. I'll make sure Gage gets this." He led her out of the office waving to the waiting taxi. "Have a good day ma'am." He closed the door after her, holding the note.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Captain Dennis wasn't sure what to think. He wasn't all that familiar with A shift, as he was always between them on C, but he thought that lady looked an awful lot like Gage himself. Normal practice was to tape any note to that person's locker, but Dennis decided against it for some reason, he had a feeling it might need a bit more discretion. He placed the note in an envelope, sealed it, and put it in the top drawer of the desk. On the desk, he left a note for Captain Stanley.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

After a nap, Johnny finally finished his chores that had been pushed back a day. His clean uniform was hanging in his closet, the other clothes washed and put away. His pantry and fridge were full again. His shoes dry and polished, shining and ready for Monday. He locked his apartment door and made his way to the DeSoto household, hoping that Roy would not discuss _her_. He had decided to keep her locked away in the corner of his mind until tomorrow. Tomorrow, he was going to do some research. He shuddered while he sat at a red light. He did not want to revisit that chapter in his life.

Before he knew it, he had pulled up in front of the two-story cape cod that belonged to his partner. He sighed and again shoved those thoughts in the corner, where he hoped they would stay all night. He got out of the car and knocked on the door. There was no answer and it was locked. Pulling his key to their house out, he let himself inside. "Hello?" he called out, surprised at the silence. _"They must be out back."_ He thought. He locked the front door behind him and walked through the house. Off the kitchen, he opened the sliding door to the patio. Roy's face turned at the noise and broke into a smile. Joann greeted him from a chair, sipping on a lemonade.

"Uncle Johnny!" two voices exclaimed in excitement. Two children came barreling at him. He scooped up Jenny in a swoop and tossed her into the air as she giggled. Chris attempted to be more mature, but couldn't help but laugh when Johnny ruffled his hair.

"Hey guys." he said to everyone. He sat on a deck chair and put Jenny on his knee. Chris obediently let Jenny talk first, as instructed by Joann.

"Guess what I did today Uncle Johnny?" Jenny asked. She didn't wait for a response as she retold every detail from her trip. Johnny smirked and shared a side glance with Roy, who returned it while flipping a burger. Jenny slid off from Johnny's knee, pulling him towards the corner of the concrete patio. He followed the insistent five year old. "Look what I drew for you." she said pointing at a red squiggle.

"It's very nice Jenny bean." Johnny said while quickly trying to figure out what it was.

He looked at Joann for help, but she just laughed at him, "You're on your own" she mouthed. He looked back down. Jenny was pointing out orange circles inside the big red squiggle.

"It's a very nice firetruck." Johnny said, hoping to all the gods he was right.

"I thought so too." Jenny said matter of factly. She sat back down and went to draw again. Johnny looked smugly at the parents and gave them a fist pump. He sat down next to Jenny and pulled a piece of green chalk from the tub.

"What should I draw?" he asked the girl who was concentrating on a blue square.

"Don't use green, use purple." Jenny corrected him. She handed him a purple chalk and told him to draw a flower. Johnny obliged.

Burgers were soon consumed and children in bed. Out on the patio, Joann had a glass of wine and Roy and Johnny were nursing a couple beers. "I think I'm going to build a deck, what do you think hun?" Roy asked, looking out at the patio.

Joann nodded her head, "I think that would be great." She looked over at the three stairs leading up to the back door of the house, "Then we don't have to worry about the kids falling on the concrete."

"Exactly." Roy nodded, taking a sip. "Feel like building a deck Johnny?"

"Not this very minute," he quipped, "Drawing with your daughter has sucked all artistic abilities out of me for a week." His remark made the two parents laugh.

"She is a critic." Joann said. She finished her glass of wine, "Anyone want refills?" They both shook their heads. "Then I think I'm going to turn in, thanks for coming over." She said to Johnny standing up to kiss him on the cheek, "The kids adore you."

Johnny ducked his head, "Thanks for inviting me, the food was great, as usual." She smiled and bid them goodnight, quietly closing the door behind her. Johnny bit his lip, he knew what was coming. He was sure Roy and Joann had planned this.

Roy didn't waste any time, "How are you? I know that lady's been bothering you." Roy looked at him and waited patiently. Johnny sighed, took a swig and sighed again. Postponing the answer as long as possible.

"She threw me off that's for sure." Johnny stared off at the cement covered in chalk flowers. "When I was a kid, I," he stopped, then started again. "I never talk about my childhood." He paused, Roy nodded his head encouragingly. "For good reason, it wasn't great." Johnny fiddled with his bottle, finding the right words. He finally decided on, "Life on the rez isn't all what TV makes it out to be. Especially for me, my father wasn't the nicest of people you could say. Life was really rough, some people left. I vaguely remember someone close to us leaving the rez, at the worst possible time too 'cause it was shortly after my mother died." Roy tucked that information away but didn't interrupt. "My father was furious and I was jealous. But I honestly don't remember who that person was. That's how messed up my family is. I've never seen this lady before in my life Roy. We've got to be related though, there's no way we're not." Roy sat in silence, letting his partner vent, soaking up every detail. Johnny talked all the time but never about himself. "I've got to find out," Johnny continued, "One way or another. And who knows how long she's in town. She could be gone and I would never know if I have family who are alive, who are decent."

Roy shuddered, _"My father was furious, I was jealous. Who are decent." _he repeated in his head. He always wondered what kind of childhood his friend had. Now he was getting confirmation of what he feared. Johnny had stopped talking and silence came over the two like a heavy blanket. "You always know we're always here for you, whatever you need, the guys are too." Roy finally said, breaking the fragile silence. Johnny nodded and took the last sip from his bottle.

"I should get going, thanks for having me over." Johnny said, timid again.

"You're welcome anytime, you know that." After silently recycling their empty bottles, they made it to the front door.

"See you Monday Roy. "Johnny said, turning to leave. Roy grabbed him and gave him a hug.

"See you Monday." he repeated. He watched to make sure he safely left his street, then closed and locked the door, sighing.


	7. Chapter Seven

**Chapter Seven**

Johnny sighed and rubbed his face. He was seated at a table in the library, holding books on Reservations. He took any he could get his hands on, looking for one place in particular. "It's pointless." he muttered. He stood up, stretched, and carried his books back to the counter. "Thanks for all your help ma'am." he said the librarian.

"No problem, find what you were looking for?" she politely inquired.

"I didn't, but didn't have much to go on in the first place, thanks though." Johnny walked out the door, hands in his pockets. He walked over to a nearby park bench and sat down, not ready to leave. He ran his hand through his hair. An idea popped into his mind, he stood up and ran back into the library. "Do you have any adoption agency numbers?" he asked.

She nodded her head and walked out from behind the desk. "Follow me." she said pleasantly. She led him to the reference section and pulled a large book. "They should be in here."

"Thanks." Johnny said to her, too anxious to smile. He sat down again and flipped through the pages of state adoption agencies. "Montana, Montana" he muttered. His finger landed on the M states. Johnny pulled out a piece of paper and pen out of his pocket and jotted down the ten-digit number. He closed the book and put it back on the shelf. He thanked the librarian again and made for his rover.

He opened the door to his favorite diner, "Hey Rosie!" he hollered from the door.

"Hey Johnny boy!" She hollered back, "Take your normal booth!" Johnny waved to indicate he heard as he meandered to the back booth. He sat down and looked out the window while fiddling with the heavy piece of paper in his pocket. He felt someone sit across the table from him. "Penny for your thoughts." a voice said as she slid a glass of chocolate milk and a grilled cheese sandwich across the table.

"You'll need a quarter today." John replied as he took the glass of brown milk, the glass pausing it's course to his mouth to thank her. He pulled the piece of paper out of his pocket and put it on the table. On it was the number to Montana's State Adoption Agency.

"Oh," the lady said simply. "Why you trying to call there honey?" Rosie was the only person who knew Johnny's whole life story. He had gotten a second job shortly after graduating from the academy. After a bad call, he accidentally ended up telling her about his past. She was Johnny's second mother, at least that's how she saw herself and Johnny had no intentions of telling her otherwise. "I thought you were never going back." She looked up at him concerned.

"I'm not, at least I'm not trying to." He turned the offensive piece of paper upside down and took a bite of the sandwich. "I think I have family outside of the rez."

Rosie's mouth dropped open. "You mean to say, that after all of these years, you've found family? I'm happy for you John." she said seriously wrapping his free hand in hers, holding them as a mother would.

"Look," he said stopping the excitement and pulling his hand back, "I don't know if she even is family." He said, then paused, "We can't not be, we're practically identical. 'Cept she's white."

"She?" she said excitedly, then pointedly asked, "Do you care?"

"Of course not!" he exclaimed. "Why would you think that?"

"Okay sugar." Rosie replied putting her hands up.

"Sorry, it's been a couple rough days."

"Sounds like it Johnny boy, it's okay." She used his nickname to ensure him things were okay. "How'd you meet this twin of yours?"

"Funny you should ask that." Johnny smirked and then explained the whole rescue to the soon amused woman.

Rosie struggled to keep a straight face then managed, "Those ice machines, they're out to get ya." Johnny snorted and nodded, polishing off the sandwich.

His smile disappeared, "I really need to go and make this phone call." He stood and pulled his wallet out of his pocket.

Rosie quickly stood up and scolded him, "Ah ah ah, what did I say about that!"

"But, but-" Johnny quickly protested.

Rosie adeptly cut him off again, "John Gage, unless you come in here wanting anything other than some advice, you don't need to pay. You've done plenty for this place." Momma Rosie said, looking around at all the repairs John had made over the years. Johnny rolled his eyes but reluctantly agreed. He hugged Rosie and whispered his thanks in her ear. "You take care of yourself Johnny," she replied, "Let me know if you find her." Johnny nodded and walked back to his car, his spirits, for the moment, lifted.

An hour later, he was pacing in his living room, his carpet begging for relief. He glanced at the table with the phone and a piece of paper with ten numbers on it. He put his hands on his waist and huffed. "Just call." he tried to convince himself. Flopping down in his chair, he picked up the phone. He managed to dial the first three numbers then stopped, quickly hanging up again.

He stood up and continued his pacing. Momma Rosie's words popped back into his mind, _"After all of these years, you've found family? I'm happy for you John." _

"Just call the number damn it." He sat down again, and slowly dialed the number. The phone rang, Johnny's leg bouncing in anticipation.

"Montana State Adoption agency, how may I help you?" a pleasant voice said. John introduced himself, and asked his question.

"Is it possible to get the number of the Montana reservation I came from?"

A brief, "Hold on a minute." came from the phone then silence. He could hear typing and paper rustling in the background. Nearly five minutes passed before the voice came back. "Sorry about the wait, we just got a new computer record system, and it doesn't work. I personally prefer the paper. Anyway," she cleared her throat and John gulped. "Here's the number, are you ready?" she asked. John gulped, fingers now drumming on the chair's armrests. "Hello?" the voice asked.

"Yeah, sorry" Johnny was able to muster up. "What's the number?" he asked, his voice shaking.

He couldn't call it, try as he might. Finally giving up, he left it on the table. Grabbing his gym bag, he left the apartment. While he ran on the treadmill, his mind wandered._ "Who is she? Is she the person who left, the one my dad was furious about? Is she even related to me? Am I chasing a dead end? What if she thinks I'm like my dad?"_ "I'm not," he said out loud. He looked around sheepishly, thankful he was alone at the moment. He looked down at the mileage tracked on the treadmill, "Huh." he said intrigued. He'd run four miles without meaning too. He slowed down and stepped off, finishing his workout routine.


	8. Chapter Eight

**Chapter Eight**

To say Specialist Mike Stoker was surprised to see John Gage sitting in the dayroom, an hour before their shift, in uniform, and sipping a cup of coffee, was an understatement. "Morning," Mike said in greeting, hiding his surprise, "You're here early." he added.

"Yeah, woke up and couldn't get back to sleep." Johnny yawned, as if his body was reminding him of his lack of sleep. "Coffee's fresh." he added to the engineer who was now peering questioningly at the pot filled with the black liquid.

"Thanks," Mike replied, no longer inspecting the pot and happily pouring a cup. "Everything okay?" he asked in concern, worried about the younger medic.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm good." he replied and took a drink of his coffee, avoiding his coworkers questioning eyes. The bay door opened and the squad could be heard backing in. "I'm gonna go check out the squad." Johnny said as he stood, taking his cup of coffee with him. Outside, he ran into Captain Stanley walking in. Johnny silently cursed his bad luck, out loud he bade his Captain a good morning.

"Mornin' Gage, you're here early." Stanley replied.

"Gotta share latrine duty with Chet every once in a while." he quipped lifting his cup of coffee in jest. Stanley smiled and chuckled, falling for the deflection. He turned and headed for the office. Johnny sighed in relief. He was dreading Roy's arrival.

"Well isn't it Charlie Dwyer." Johnny said, cheerfully greeting the exhausted looking medic. "Sorry your guy's shift was so long." he said, assuming from the dead look of both medics.

"Comes with the job." The D shift medic said shrugging his shoulders closing the driver door. "I, for one, am excited to go to sleep."

Johnny smiled, "Drive safely." Johnny said to the retreating man. Dwight, who was Dwyer's partner, was still sitting in the passenger seat, pulling out all of their run slips. Johnny reached his under him pulling out a clipboard from under the seat. "Sorry Mark," he said, apologizing for reaching around him. "Looks like you're stuck with me until Roy gets here," he added. Mark just nodded, walking away while trying to organize paper. When Johnny opened the nearly empty drugbox he said, "Jeez, they weren't kidding." After only looking for a handful of minutes, the list was already pretty long. Clipboard in hand, he walked over to the office. "Hey Cap!" he said knocking on the door.

"What's up John?" Stanley asked.

Johnny walkedin, "After roll call, we've gotta get over to Rampart. Our restock list is ridiculous."

Stanley nodded, "Understood." he nodded his head. "Hey John," Hank said when Johnny turned around to walk out the door. Hank sounded serious, "Apparently a woman came to the station on C shift and left a note for you, Captain Dennis kept it in the office. He said the woman looked like you." Stanley held out an envelope with his name on it, hoping the young man would answer his unasked questions. Johnny's face blanched, and his hands shook. "John, you okay?" the Captain asked, concerned. "Do I need to get Dwight in here?"

"No, no. I'm good Cap, thanks." Johnny said while shakily taking the letter from the outstretched hand. He held the envelope inspecting it, as if it would answer all his questions. He remained silent, much to his Captain's despair. He took a breath and walked into the bay.

As Johnny was leaving the office, the bay door opened again and the engine backed inside. The engine shut off, Davies, a lineman hopped out the back and saw Johnny walking out of the office holding a letter. "I hear from C shift that a lovely lady came by the station asking for a certain Paramedic John Gage."

Johnny didn't initially react, his mind racing a million miles a minute. "Oh." he was able to get out.

"She was beautiful, according to their engineer," he said again.

"She must have been," D shift's other lineman replied, "Only the best for Johnny."

John was able to finally check his emotions and deadpan "Ha Ha," in response. "Very funny folks."

Stoker entered the bay after hearing the engine back in. Looking at 'Big Red' for the first time that shift, "What did you do to my engine!" He exclaimed, looking at the muddy and filthy engine.

"We didn't do anything, it's the roads fault." the D shift engineer replied. He changed his tone to a more professional one, "There was a pretty bad mudslide up north, sorry we didn't get a chance to clean it Stoker, it kills me to see her like this." Mike nodded, inspecting it for 'injuries'.

Johnny was thankful Mike walked in when he did. He was able to walk out with no one noticing. He sat on the bench in front of his locker turning the envelope over in his hands.

"Whatcha got there Johnny?" a familiar voice asked, almost appearing from nowhere. Roy opened his locker and began unbuttoning his shirt.

"A letter. From _her_."

"Oh," came the simple reply, "That's good though, right?" he asked, confused why Johnny looked like he was about to read a death sentence.

Chet walked in with a teasing air after hearing all the conversation in the bay. "I hear you got a letter Gage." he said walking over to his locker. John didn't respond, still staring at the folded white paper.

"Yes, he does. Leave it alone Chet." Roy answered sternly for him. Chet looked up, surprised at Roy's tone and actually observed the scene. He backed off when he saw Johnny clutching the letter in fear, face white as a ghost.

"Sorry John." the lineman replied seriously.

"It's fine Chet." Johnny said. He stood up and threw the letter in his locker. "Roy, our restock list is nuts, Cap already knows."

"When did you get here?" Roy asked, amazed that his friend was already in uniform and had already started checking the squad over.

"Too early, six, I think." he replied walking out the door, leaving the two confused A shift members behind.

"Roy, is Johnny okay?" Chet asked, legitimate concern in his voice.

"It's not my place to tell, just tell the phantom to stay away for now." Chet nodded. Roy walked out of the locker rooms in uniform, buckling his belt, he made his way over to the squad. He found Johnny untangling the ropes. Roy decided to stick to work related things as D shift was still mulling about. "What do we need pally?"

"List's on the drug box." John said from the back of the squad. Roy picked up the list, after glancing at it he whistled. "It was a busy shift." Johnny needlessly explained. "They made sure to leave at least one of everything for us though."

"How kind." Roy dead panned.

"Roll call in five gentlemen." Captain Stanley said to them as he walked over to the locker room to give the warning. They both nodded their heads, confirming they heard him.

"Let's wrap up here Johnny." Roy said, hoping his partner would catch the terrible dad joke, as Johnny was now re-wrapping the ropes. Johnny did and he rolled his eyes loudly in response.

"Alright gentlemen," Stanley said when he had five people standing in front of him. "D shift had a heck of a night, so let's start with the apparatus before we move onto station chores." There were nods of consent. Roy glanced a worried look over at Johnny. Stanley continued, "Marco, you've got latrines today, Chet and Mike, hang the lines. But, for the love of god guys, let's wash the engine first." There were three heads nodding vigorously, looking over at the mud caked engine. "Roy, you're cooking and have the day room, Johnny, you've got bunk and locker rooms. I hear the squad needs to restock, so you can leave right after this. That's it everyone, let's get to work."

The four assigned to the engine started washing her right away, even Captain Stanley joined, forgoing his paperwork. Roy and Johnny quickly looked over the rest of their equipment and soon were driving over to Rampart. "Guess we'll see who's on duty this morning." Roy said, filling the empty silence in the cab. Johnny made a guttural response, remaining silent. Roy sighed, letting the silence win this round.


	9. Chapter Nine

**Chapter Nine**

Boxes of supplies and a grocery run later, Roy backed the squad into the bay. They looked appreciatively at the gleaming shiny engine. Roy took the food into the kitchen and John put all the supplies and medicine in the drugbox and appropriate compartments. Closing all the compartment doors, he walked to the bunk rooms and began stripping the sheets and putting them in the washer. He could hear Marco in the bathroom, whistling while he mopped, Johnny smiled appreciatively at the distracting noise. In the locker rooms, he sat down on the bench again and pulled the letter out of his locker. He stared at the handwriting, recognizing Captain Dennis' scrawl. He opened the letter carefully, not wanting to rip the paper. The minute he opened the envelope, the klaxons went off.

"_Squad 51, respond to the female having chest pain. 1478 Alemeda Ave, 1-4-7-8 Alameda Ave, ambulance is responding, time out, 0938." _

Johnny cursed out loud, "Damn it." he threw the letter back into his locker and ran out the door. Squinting, he looked over the hood of the squad at the map on the wall. In the background he heard Captain Stanley copying the call. Referencing the map enough, he slid into his usual seat, strapping his helmet on. He held out his hand automatically from the slip of paper Roy gave him. When it was in his hand, he slipped it into the glove box, saving it for later. "Left out of the station Roy." he said pointing.

The squad arrived on scene to a house, family members were standing on the curb becoming them in quickly. Johnny stepped out of the squad, turning his back only to grab the equipment. Roy walked ahead of John, stopping to grab only the drug box. "Thanks partner." John said sarcastically under his breath. He carried in the defib, oxygen, and the monitor. Roy turned and smiled as he walked up the front path.

"My name's Roy, what's going on today?" he asked them in his 'medic voice'.

"My mom, she came outside for a breath of fresh air, said she was feeling dizzy you see. When she sat down, she just all out fainted and fell." The daughter stood away from her mother lying face down on the ground.

"Let's see here," Roy said, crouching on the ground. "Ma'am, can you hear me, does anything hurt?" he asked her while feeling her neck and back for injuries, not finding any.

"My chest hurts."

John arrived, putting down the rest of the equipment. Roy said to the patient, "Let's get you sitting up here. John, want to take her other side?" Together, he and Johnny pulled her to a sitting position leaning up against a chair. They finally got their first look at the patient. She was cool, diaphoretic, and pale. They shared a look, communicating wordlessly this might be bad. Roy opened up the monitor.

"What's your name ma'am?" Johnny asked as Roy got a blood pressure.

"Alice Geneva."

"Well Mrs. Geneva, what happened?" Johnny asked her while Roy deflated the BP cuff, it hissed in the background.

"I was inside, and my chest hurt, so I came out for a breath of fresh air. I sat down, then boom. I woke up to my daughter leaning over me."

This time Johnny asked the daughter, "How long was she unconscious?" The daughter answered, saying she was out for a couple of minutes. "Has this ever happened before?" Johnny asked, turning back to the patient. Mrs. Geneva shook her head, her breaths turning into pants as time progressed. Roy hooked the leads up to her chest.

"Mrs. Geneva, we're going to put some stickers on your chest to take a picture of your heart okay?" He waited for her to nod. "Do you have any allergies or any medical history?" he asked while he worked.

"No allergies and high blood pressure." the daughter piped up in the background. Johnny had pulled out the biophone, hooking it up as he listened and wrote down everything they were saying. He also popped open the drug box again, getting out IV supplies, assuming Rampart would want one.

"Rampart base this is Squad 51." he said into the biophone. As he waited for the reply, he asked the daughter, "How old is your mom?"

"She's 62, I think, is that right mom?" The patient nodded her head.

"Thanks," Johnny said to them both. He tried Rampart again, "Rampart base this is Squad 51."

Dixie's lovely voice responded this time, "This is Rampart base, go ahead 51."

Johnny began listing information they had to Rampart in clear concise terms, "We have a 62 year old female, chief complaint of chest pain with a syncopal episode. Syncope caused her to fall face first, there is bruising and a hematoma to her forehead. Patient is pale, diaphoretic, and cool. Current set of vital signs are as follows. BP of 108/80, heart rate of 59, and respirations of 21, eyes are equal. We're patching her up now."

Roy gave Johnny the thumbs up, indicating the 12 lead was ready to go. The biophone was silent for a moment. Roy then turned to Mrs. Geneva, "How long ago did the chest pain start Mrs. Geneva?"

Roy faintly heard Brackett on the biophone, asking for a 12 lead. Johnny answered Brackett's request with a "This'll be lead 2 Rampart. We're showing sinus bradycardia with obvious ST elevation in the 4 lead alone."

Brackett immediately replied, "I see major elevation in every inferior lead, give 325 mg of aspirin, hold the nitro, and start an IV if you haven't already. Is the ambulance there yet?" Johnny dutifully repeated all of the orders out loud so Roy could hear them and told Brackett the ambulance hadn't arrived yet.

Roy had grabbed the aspirin first, so Johnny started the IV. "Mrs. Geneva, we have to start an IV on you, it'll be a quick pinch." Johnny deftly found a vein and got a flash, expertly advancing the catheter and hooking it up to an extension set.

While Johnny got her IV, Mrs. Geneva asked, "What's happening to me?"

Johnny answered her question, using layman's terms. "Mrs. Geneva, from what we see, and the Doctor agrees with us, we think you're having a heart attack." Mrs. Geneva and her family gasped in shock. "But we are doing everything we can and we're going to take you to the best hospital, so just relax and let us do all the worrying." he flashed them his best 'Gage smile'.

"Aspirin's in Johnny." Roy said to his partner and Johnny wrote it down on a piece of paper. Roy had grabbed an IV bag while Johnny got the line, hooking it up to the IV and setting the flow. While they were working, another siren could be heard in the background.

"Ambo's here Roy, I'll go in with her" he said. Roy nodded and adjusted the IV drip. They switched places and Roy updated Rampart while Johnny talked to the patient, explaining what was going to happen.

The ambulance crew, Roy, and Johnny quickly and seamlessly got Mrs. Geneva loaded and ready to go. As they were driving Mrs. Geneva said to Johnny, "It's getting hard to breath and I feel really dizzy." He glanced at his monitor displaying her rhythm frowning slightly.

"You are breathing pretty fast, let me give you some oxygen." He pulled an oxygen mask from a compartment in the ambulance and put it on her face, securing it into place. "Rampart, patient is now complaining of dizziness and shortness of breath. Oxygen has been given via non-rebreather. She's gone into a bradycardic rate of 40, requesting .5mg of atropine." While he waited, he pulled out the drug prepping it, assured he was going to get permission to give it. He also took another blood pressure and wrote it down.

Brackett finally responded, "Go ahead with the atropine 51 and start a second line. What's your ETA?" the impatient Doctor asked.

"Approximately five minutes Rampart." Johnny replied, while setting up a flush for the atropine.


	10. Chapter Ten

**Chapter Ten**

"Good job guys," Brackett said a little while later when he walked out of the treatment room. "She just went up to the cath lab. Her whole right coronary artery was occluded."

Roy whistled, "The whole thing?" he repeated in shock.

"Yeah, it was a good thing you guys were there when you were, any later and it would've been a code."

Johnny shook his head, "Man, when I saw the 4 lead, I knew it was gonna be bad. Her ST elevation was off the charts." Roy nodded listening to John, "I was worried when she went into bradycardic rate and stayed hypotensive, even with a second line and atropine. Speaking of a second line," Johnny said, turning to the nurse standing behind the counter, "We need some supplies."

"I'll leave you guys to it" Brackett said to the pair in blue standing at the counter. "See you guys later!"

"I hope not." Roy replied, knowing they would anyway.

As they were driving back to the station, Roy ventured to ask. "I know you don't want to talk about it, but if you need anything, let me know. I'm sorry D shift were A-holes."

Johnny raised his eyebrows, surprised at Roy's language. John replied, trying to calm him, "I probably overreacted. I appreciate Captain Dennis though, he kept the note in the desk as opposed to on my locker." John said, trying to change the subject. "Eighty percent of those notes are read."

"He's pretty good at guessing stuff like that." Roy confirmed, not falling for the subject change. Resting his left hand out the window he asked "Have you read it?"

Johnny rolled his eyes, "I was going to, but naturally we got a call. I don't know if I can today anyway, it took me all day to dial a phone yesterday."

"How was yesterday?" Roy asked, curious as to what number Johnny was trying to call.

"Well, I have the number to some answers, I just never wanted to call the place ever again."

Roy was silent as he tried to put two and two together. _"Oh," _he mentally said, _"I bet he's talking about the-"._

"I'm talking about the rez if you were wondering." Johnny said, reading Roy's mind unintentionally. Roy nodded, staying silent so Johnny could keep talking if he needed to. He did, "I'm terrified and curious about this letter, I hope it really is a relative, and at the same time I don't. As much as I want to keep all my emotions in a little box in the back of my head, you and the guys know me well enough it's not going to work." He sighed, looking out the window, "Even Cap knows somethings off, I nearly fainted in his office."

"You what?!" Roy exclaimed.

"Yeah," Johnny trailed off, "He gave me the letter, and I just knew it was from _her_ and kinda freaked out. He even offered to get Dwight he was so worried."

"I see," Roy said, "Guess I wasn't there yet?" Johnny shook his head. "What time did you get to the station?" Roy asked again, "You're never early." he added.

"Thanks," Johnny said sarcastically, "I appreciate the vote of confidence."

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

When they got back, Johnny put the sheets in the dryer and Roy headed for the kitchen. Mike was sitting on a chair reading a newspaper. He took the opportunity to ask while the dayroom was unoccupied, "Roy, is Johnny okay?"

Roy nodded, "He will be, it's really not my place to talk about it." He said sorrowfully, wishing his partner would tell everyone.

"I understand," Mike said, putting down the newspaper, "I just hope he knows we're all here for him, whatever it is. You know he got here before I did? And I always get here before Cap."

"Before you too?" Mike nodded, "Did he say why?" Roy asked.

"Only that he couldn't sleep."

"I see." Roy said, unhappily whisking a sauce together.

The moment ended when Marco walked in "What are you making Roy?" he asked looking at his watch, "It's a bit early for lunch."

"It's actually for dinner, I'm going to marinate the meat in it." Chet came through the door, hearing Roy's last comment.

"Ooh, _marinate_, we've got a chef tonight." Chet teased, his eyes twinkling.

"If we've got a chef, I'm not complaining." Marco wisely said. Roy smirked and continued whisking, ignoring his shift mate's antics. Mike just smiled and held up the newspaper.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Jane was in a large room full of people, she was daydreaming. In the background she could hear the presenter rattling off student statistics. She knew she should be paying attention, but her mind kept going back to John Gage. It was Monday, that Captain said his shift came back today. Had he read the letter? Had he even gotten it? Would he want anything to do with me? She was brought back to the present when she realized a woman's voice had replaced the presenters. She blinked a couple times and looked up at the stage. She recognized the event coordinator. Her assistants seemed to be passing out papers to each person. The lady said, "We have an event tonight hosted at King's Dominion. Because it's a Monday night, it should be relatively empty, at least that's our hope." she said with a smile. "Dinner will be comped, we hope to see you there." Jane looked over at her coworkers, gauging their reactions. She personally loved roller coasters, they got her blood pumping and her adrenaline running. Her mother often accused her of being an adrenaline junky. Her mother, her thoughts went straight back to the paramedic, had he read the letter yet?


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Chapter Eleven**

Lunch had come and gone, thankfully the whole crew got to eat their cold cuts in one sitting. Johnny meandered back to the bunk room, now that the sheets were clean he began putting them on the beds. As he was making Chet's bunk, he wondered if he should short sheet it, but opted not to. The phantom hadn't attacked so far, somehow the phantom just knew something was going on. He saved Captain's Stanley bed for last, making sure the bed would fit right in at an army boot camp. He liked Stanley so far, but always was unsure how 'military precise' things needed to be. After he tucked in the last corner and fluffed the pillow, he went to find the mop and broom. He walked through the locker room and looked in his open locker. On the floor in the locker laid an innocent looking letter. John stopped in his quest for the mop and stooped to pick it up. It felt heavier to him than a piece of paper should. He decided to pocket it and continue looking for the mop. Johnny tore apart the closet in the bay, other cleaning supplies surrounding him on the ground.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Chet was sitting in the day room and heard noises coming from the bay. Looking around at his other crewmates, he appeared to be the only one curious. He stood up and walked out. To his right he happened upon Johnny who was putting everything back in the closet. "Whatcha looking for Johnny?" Chet asked.

"The mop, the damn things disappeared." John grumbled, putting a bottle of bleach back on the shelf.

Chet snickered, wondering why the bleach was a suspect to stealing the mop. He thought about teasing the flustered man, then remembered Roy's words of warning. He said honestly, "I think Marco left it for you in the locker room." he suggested.

Johnny squinted at him, to evaluate the lineman to see if he was pulling his leg. He must have decided he wasn't and walked back towards the locker room.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Johnny found the mop innocently leaning in the corner, just where Chet said it was. "How did I miss it?" he said out loud, throwing his arms up in the air. He grabbed the mop and wheeled the bucket towards the bunk room. He mopped with efficiency and finished quickly. As he waited for the floor to dry, he sat in front of his locker pulling the letter out of his back pocket. Taking it out of the envelope, he looked at the handwriting without reading it. Placing it on the bench and smoothed it out, staring intently at it. He took a breath and exhaled forcefully. He picked it up, willing his hands to stop shaking. _"I really shouldn't read it here" _he thought. _"I won't sleep if I don't,"_ he admitted. He read the opening sentence.

'Mr. John Gage,

You have no idea who I am, I only discovered who you were the other day.'

Johnny folded the letter again, "Damn right I don't know who you are." he muttered. He looked around quickly, worried someone overheard. He decided to sit on his bunk, figuring the floor would be dry by now. Clutching the letter, he sat on the edge of his bed. Hoping the bells would sound to distract him.

'From the look we shared in the hospital, clearly we both recognized our similarities.'

Johnny nodded his head in agreement. Biting his lip in anticipation, his leg bouncing.

'My mother Roberta is your Aunt. Your father's sister.'

"No." he breathed in disbelief. Johnny suddenly remembered it was his Aunt who left. He remembered feeling resentment towards her, she left without taking him. Was she when pregnant when she left? "I wonder if mom knew." he said out loud. He forced his mind back to the reservation. The week before their accident, she had been acting strange. She became solemn and reserved, which was unusual. She looked like she always had something on her mind. The county radio dispatching another unit wrenched his mind out of Montana and back to LA. Johnny reached out to grip his bedspread, his mind reeling. He took a deep breath and looked back down.

'My mother ran away from the Lakota Reservation when she was pregnant with me. So we've never officially met. She was running away because of your father's, tendencies shall we say, and the fact that my father is white.'

"She's mixed too." He murmured, "I guess I'm lucky I look Indian." He put the letter down and rubbed his face, giving himself a break from the loaded paper._ "How does my Aunt live with herself?" _he thought. Johnny realized he was breathing too quickly, the medic part of him diagnosed himself and offered the treatment. He leaned over, resting his elbows on his knees. Praying to the gods that nobody would walk in. Once he caught his breath and his respiratory rate was normal, he put the letter under his pillow. Realizing the mop bucket was still sitting in the corner, he took it outside to the back parking lot and dumped it, returning it to the closet. Leaning against the closet door frame he debated if it was worth risking walking into the day room for a cup of coffee. He knew he looked bad, probably pale and shaky. He could feel his hands trembling slightly so he jammed them in his pockets. He decided against coffee when he pictured himself holding a mug, his hands shaking so much that it would spill. He couldn't go right back to the letter though. He paced the bay, staying away from the day room door, not wanting to be seen. An idea popped into his head. He grabbed the squad's portable radio and climbed the hose tower out back. Making sure the radio was on, and on the right channel, he sat there, legs swinging and mind free.


	12. Chapter Twelve

**Chapter Twelve**

Captain Stanley walked out of his office, wanting to get something from his locker. He opted to walk past the day room. It had been quiet, too quiet. Quiet was never good while Chet Kelly and Johnny Gage occupied the same building. As he walked past, he quickly glanced inside. Roy was sitting at the table working on a crossword, Mike was reading a book, and Marco and Chet were talking amicably on the couch petting Henry. Hank frowned, _"Where's Gage?" _he thought. As he walked behind the engine, he happened to see a man on the top of the hose tower. He went to open the back door and yell at the bystander, to tell him to get down, when he realized it was his elusive medic. Stanley stopped, put his hands on his waist and observed the perched rescue man. John stared at the sky, his legs swinging freely over the edge. He seemed to be taking deep breaths. Hank noticed the radio sitting next to him and smiled slightly. _"I should get Roy." _He thought as he turned around, forgetting why he got up in the first place. Standing in the door to the dayroom he said, "Roy, can I see you for a sec?" He tried to sound as casual as he could, trying not to stress the man out. Roy looked at his shift mates in confusion and shrugged his shoulders.

To Roy's surprise, the Captain made a right out of the dayroom, heading to the back of the station, as opposed to his office. Stanley pointed out the garage door windows. To Roy's credit, he hid his surprise of spotting his partner at the top of the tower. "I'm worried about him," Hank said to the senior medic. "Is he alright?"

Roy sighed, "I can't really tell you, it's not my place. But someone we met last shift has shaken him up." He put his hands on his waist wishing, not for the first time, his friend would tell everyone.

"I see, is he good to work?" Stanley didn't want to ask, but had too.

Roy vehemently nodded his head saying passionately, "Prior to contrary belief, he would say something if he wasn't able to do the job." Stanley simply nodded at the usually calm man. "I can talk to him if you want," Roy added, his defensive tone gone, "But I've noticed it's better if I wait for him to come to me."

Hank nodded, "I trust you Roy, let me know if I can do anything."

"I will." Roy promised. When Stanley left, he said under his breath, "What am I to do with you Junior?"

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Johnny had seen the impromptu meeting though the bay door windows. "Pull your shit together Gage." he said. "They probably think I can't work." After another minute passed, he came down from the hose tower. After replacing the squad's radio, he looked down at his hands. They weren't shaking anymore. Smiling at his victory, he went in search of some coffee.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Roy looked up from his crosswords at his partner. Not wanting to ask about how he was in front of everyone, he opted for, "What's a five-letter word for contempt?" looking at Johnny. John stopped in his tracks, clearly thinking. The wheels turning in his head visible.

"Scorn." he said and continued walking. After pouring himself a cup of coffee, he joined his partner at the table. He leaned back in his chair and put his feet up. Marco and Chet shared a look, they had been worried about their fellow crewmate, still were. He was quiet. Johnny had almost finished his cup of coffee when;

_"Squad 51, respond to the sick woman at 764 Traymore Ln, 7-6-4 Traymore Ln, ambulance is responding, time out 1511."_

Johnny chugged the remainder and left the mug on the table. Roy said to the group, "Don't touch the crosswords." staring them down.

Three pairs of hands went up "Okay geez." they silently promised as the two raced out of the room. Roy got into the driver's seat and turned the key, the engine spurred to life. He passed the slip of paper to Johnny and put on his helmet.

"Right out of the station pally." advised his navigator.

When they arrived, they were met by a frantic man. He was waving them down and ushering them in. "Hurry, she's inside." he said in a panic. "My wife's been sick this whole week, but now she's not waking up." Johnny stole a glance at his partner as they collected their equipment. Inside, the woman was lying on a bed, covered in blankets. Roy got to her first and immediately stripped all the blankets.

"I need a thermometer and a BP cuff John." he said sternly as he checked the woman. He rubbed her chest with his knuckles while he waited. "Ma'am, ma'am?" he asked. She groaned in response. Soon a thermometer, a stethoscope, and a BP cuff were thrust into Roy's hands and he went straight to work.

"Sir?" Johnny asked the man, causing him to rip his gaze away. "What's her name and how old is she?" Johnny asked, paper and pencil ready.

"Her name's Beth and she's 28. She's never been this sick before, what's happening?" he nearly yelled.

"Alright, I understand." John replied, "My name's John and that's my partner over there, we're helping your wife, but we need some answers." He said, trying to calm the husband down. "You said she's been sick a week?" The husband replied that she got sick about a week ago, and had been coughing a lot. "Roy," Johnny said, getting his attention, "Probable pneumonia."

Roy nodded his head and said, "Got a BP of 80/62, a heart rate of 130, and respirations of 20. Temp is 102.3, lungs are junky."

While Roy looked over the patient, Johnny hooked up the biophone and called Rampart. He quickly summed up what was happening and requested two IV sites.

"Go ahead with the two IV sites 51. I want D5W wide open in both. I suspect sepsis so let's try and get her pressure up some." Dr. Early said from the hospital. Johnny repeated the orders and put the receiver back in the orange box. He pulled out two IV kits and two bags of fluid, handing one to Roy.

"I found an okay vein on this side when I was getting a pressure, good luck over there." Roy said, "She's pretty dehydrated." he added in explanation. Johnny went over to the other side of the bed while he explained to the husband what they were doing.

"Sir, could you go wait outside for the ambulance, they should be here soon." Johnny suggested to the pacing man. He nodded numbly and left the room.

"She's pretty septic." Roy said, setting up the IV after getting a flash. Johnny nodded while he palpated for a vein.

"That's what Early thinks." There was a pause, "You weren't kidding," Johnny said, "Her veins are terrible over here." He took the tourniquet off and moved it further down her arm. "They're gonna have to deal with a hand vein, there's nothing else."

Roy took her pulse again, "You'd have to get one in the hand if we want to take more BP's anyway" Roy advised. Johnny stayed silent as he concentrated. Roy took the initiative and hooked their patient up to a 4 lead on their monitor. "Just so I can keep an eye." he said in explanation.

"Got it." Johnny said in triumph, now hooking up the needed fluid. "They're both wide open."

"We got sinus tach on the monitor, wasn't really expecting anything else." Roy said. Johnny murmured in agreement as he focused on securing his IV. While John was busy, Roy updated Rampart. As he was talking, he heard sirens in the background. He said to Johnny, "I'll go in with her."

"Figured," John replied focused, "Let's get her ready to go."


	13. Chapter Thirteen

**Chapter Thirteen**

Johnny followed the ambulance to the hospital. He parked the squad leisurely and meandered in. A list of restock items already in hand. Walking up to the counter, he looked for a nurse who could help him. He found Dixie sitting at the counter, studying a schedule. "I'm surprised you're not in there with Roy and them." he said mildly surprised.

"Carol's working with Early today." she supplied. "And good to see you too." she added dryly.

Johnny rolled his eyes, "It's not like I haven't seen you today already." and huffed indignantly. "Since you're here, I've got a-"

"A list for you." Dixie finished for him, smiling sweetly.

"Am I that predictable?" Johnny asked, leaning on the counter.

Dixie smirked, "Only when you are tiger." she replied, knowing it would set him off. She smiled, hoping Roy wouldn't kill her later.

"What do you mean only when I am? That doesn't make any sense!" he began to ramble. Dixie grabbed the slip of paper out of his hand while he talked. She turned her back on him, getting the needed supplies together.

Roy walked up, observed the situation, and glared at Dixie accusingly. "Sorry." she mouthed, not appearing sorry at all.

Johnny finally saw him and said, "Do you think I'm predictable?" Johnny asked. While he waited for Roy to answer, Dixie slipped out from behind the counter and left the two medics standing there.

Back at the station, Johnny was sitting on the couch and still discussing Dixie's answer. Inwardly, he was just delaying the rest of the letter. Outwardly, he was muttering under his breath, "Only WHEN you are. Only when YOU are." He repeated the phrase, accentuating certain words. Finally giving up, he stayed quiet, petting Henry on the head while he thought.

"Maybe it wasn't supposed to make sense." Chet helpfully suggested. Tired of listening to Johnny's rant, but thankful to see his friend back to, what appeared to be, normal.

"I suppose so." Johnny said, thinking it over. Roy ignored all discussion on 'predictability' while he chopped up potatoes.

"Smells good." Marco said, trying to lead the conversation in a different direction. It worked.

"It does. I'm looking forward to eating it, whatever _it_ is." Captain Stanley agreed while he took a swig out of a glass of water.

"I give up." Johnny exclaimed, moving Henry off his lap as he stood up. The basset hound looked at the medic gratefully, then crawled over the Chet and plopped down for a nap. "Henry's got the right idea." Johnny said and he walked out of the dayroom.

"Looks like Johnny's feeling better." Chet said, voicing almost everyone's thoughts.

"I don't know." Roy trailed off, still concerned.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

As the group coordinator promised, Jane gave her ticket to the man at the amusement park gate. He looked at it then said, "You're good to go." Jane didn't have to pay a penny. Inside, the amusement park was almost deserted. She looked around, kind of spooked at the ghost town. Hearing her stomach growl, she began looking at food shops. She caught up with her coworkers, hoping they could find a place to eat together. As she walked with them, she thought of ways she could convince her friend Paul, to ride the biggest roller coaster with her.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

John sat back down on his bunk and took the letter back out from under his pillow. He really didn't want to read it, but at the same time he did. "Morbid fascination." he muttered, he opened the letter and started where he left off.

'My mother only just told me this the other day, never telling me anything before. She feels guilty for leaving you as a five year old to the anger of your father, but not enough to inquire I guess.'

Anger was pulsing through his veins. He looked up, "Maybe," he said out loud. He finished his thought silently, _"Maybe she thought I'd turn out like him."_ "I didn't," he said to convince himself. He read on.

'I have my own feelings about that, trust me. The excuse she told me was, 'she wanted to leave that chapter of her life behind.'

"She did a good job." he muttered darkly. After the initial emotions played their course, Johnny took a breath and kept reading.

'I'm in town until Thursday, if you want to meet up, the number of my hotel and room number are below. If you want nothing to do with me and my family, that's fine. I understand. I'm not that happy with my parent's choices either. Just know, my mom's proud of you, becoming a firefighter and paramedic I mean. Take care. Your long lost cousin, Jane Maddox'.

The rest was easy to read, but he didn't like Jane for leaving him with the choice to contact her or not. "I guess she didn't have any other option." he said when he looked back down at the letter addressed to him. He would've preferred her to either love the fact he was alive or resent him for even existing, he was the child of a monster after all. _"Do I even have a right to be angry with her? She had no choice in the matter." _He put the letter on the table next to his bed and laid down, mulling in his thoughts.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Roy put the roast in the oven and set the timer. He hadn't seen his partner since they got back from the hospital so he walked around the station to try and find him. He took a right out of the day room, checking the hose tower again. It only contained hoses. Next, he went to the locker room, which was empty. By process of elimination, he ended up in the bunk room. He found Gage lying on his bed, breathing deeply. Roy counted respirations out of habit, John wasn't sleeping. "You okay?" Roy asked tentatively.

"Read it." Johnny said, without opening his eyes. Roy was silent, Johnny opened his eyes and looked at him, "Read it." he repeated seriously, his gaze moved towards the letter. As Roy read it, he watched Roy's emotions change. Roy slumped down on his bed, still reading the letter. When he was finished, Roy looked at his friend.

There was silence, then "Wow." Roy said.

"Yeah, so uh, there's a glimpse of my happy childhood, and someone else who got lucky." Johnny said sarcastically laying back down. "I've got to meet up with her, there's no way I can't." Roy nodded. "I mean, she came to the station, I can't not." he repeated. "Will you-," he stopped. "Never mind."

"Come have breakfast with us tomorrow morning." Roy said, thinking that he couldn't fix John's childhood, not that Johnny needed to be fixed, but he could include him in his own family.

"Thanks Roy," Johnny said thickly. "I think I will." They both heard a friendly yell.

"DESOTO!" Chet yelled, "THE TIMER'S GOING OFF!"

"Guess that's my cue." Roy stood up and rubbed his hands on his pants. "Do you need anything…?" he trailed off.

"Go take care of your 'main entree'." Johnny said with a smile on his face. "I'll be fine."

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Jane was excited, she looking forward to a simple roller coaster after finding so much turmoil on her trip. It would take her mind off of things, leaving her to enjoy the adrenaline that came with the ride. Paul had agreed to ride with her but she failed to convince him to sit up front. They settled for the second car from the front. "You'll love it," she said grinning. "It's like go-karts, but better." she advised, knowing the man loved his go-karts.

"If you say so," he nervously replied. "I've never been on one of these before." he clutched the bars that came over his head.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

"Dinner was really good Roy" Chet admitted to the senior medic as he washed dishes. Captain Stanley agreed as he dried them. Since Roy cooked, he got the pleasure of sitting on the couch, petting Henry contently. Johnny was sitting on the corner listening to the baseball game on the radio. Every so often, Roy would glance over. Johnny seemed to be doing okay, only time would tell.


	14. Chapter Fourteen

_A/N Thank you all for the reviews so far! I really appreciate all of your kind words. I haven't been purposefully ignoring anyone's questions, I'll just say the next couple of chapters will hopefully answer them! Happy reading._

**Chapter Fourteen**

"_Station 51, Truck 110, respond to the stuck roller coaster at 74 King Blvd, 7-4 King Blvd, time out 1930." _

_"Roller coaster? On a Monday?" _everyone thought. Captain Stanley dutifully copied the address and passed the slip to Johnny. Gage didn't bother with directions, the amusement park was a frequent caller. "This'll be fun in the dark." he said dryly from the front seat. Roy looked to his right, he knew immediately Johnny was all business. The letter shoved away momentarily.

When they got there, they met a supervisor at the front gates, opening it so the engine and squad could go through. When the supervisor stopped in front of the ride, everyone jumped out of their perspective apparatus. The flustered 'man in charge' went over Captain Stanley, "The Superman got stuck, right at the top." he said nervously, talking about the roller coaster by name. "We've tried all the failsafe's, they didn't work."

Chet muttered under his breath to Marco, "Obviously" and Marco hid his snicker. Captain Stanley wasted no time getting to work, asking all the necessary questions. While he did that, Johnny and Roy went back to the squad, getting their ropes and putting on their harnesses, the newer ones they had to step into. They also put on their helmets, and gloves. Roy wore his coat, only because there was a flashlight he wanted to use. They walked back over the engine crew and looked up.

"Aw man Roy, why did it have to be at the top?" Johnny complained. Roy shrugged his shoulders, waiting for Stanley's orders.

"Alright guys, the snorkel's not gonna reach, but I'll keep it coming in case you guys want to repel from up top. DeSoto, Gage, go ahead and climb up. Let us know if you need anything." There were two nods of consent as they began climbing up the steep walkway made exactly for that purpose. They each had their own harness, an older style additional harness, their high angle rescue bag, and hundreds of feet of rope.

Johnny looked back at Roy, "I recently bought this light you can attach to your helmet. I've been anxious to try 'em out." he said excitedly. He turned to face forward again and clicked a switch. The path in front of them lit up. Roy turned on his own flashlight in his turnout gear pocket. Captain Stanley and his crew watched from the ground as the two lights ascended the roller coaster.

"The light is bright, I like bright light." Quipped Roy with a smirk as the world got smaller below them.

Johnny rolled his eyes, "Jenny like Dr. Seuss?" Johnny asked, recognizing the rhyming game from the popular books.

"'Hop on Pop' is currently her favorite, which is a problem for me because she takes it literally." Johnny laughed while he methodically climbed the steep roller coaster steps.

"We're nearly at the top, we should figure out how to secure the cars, I don't want them rolling away while we're extricating." Johnny said, stopping to turn and look at his partner, covering his light. He didn't want to yell that when stuck victims could possibly overhear. "I can go up ahead, secure it and tie it off, if you want to evaluate everyone." Johnny suggested.

"Sounds good." Roy replied, their teasing tone gone. Only their training and professionalism remained. "You wanna' repel to the snorkel or walk 'em down?" Roy asked, wanting his partner's opinion. He personally thought it was too dark to walk them down the steep steps.

"Let's repel 'em, it's too dark. I know it'll take a couple trips, but it'll be safer." Roy nodded in agreement, then remembered Johnny couldn't see him and verbally agreed. He then pulled the radio out of his pocket and contacted the ground, verbalizing their plan.

When they reached the stuck roller coaster cars, John kept going. The mechanism that pulled the coaster up over the first hill caught, right before it crested. If it fell, it would go backwards, slamming into the other coaster cars in the loading area below. Before Roy even rested his hand on the car, he waited until Johnny had begun tying it off. "Nobody move," he first instructed, worried the cars would fall. He quickly added, "My name's Roy. My partner and I are from the Fire Department, we're going to get you all get down." he said to the group of stuck riders. His flashlight in his coat pocket illuminated where he looked, leaving Roy hands free. "Is anyone injured?" he asked, hoping the answer was no, it made the rescue that much harder. Everyone replied they weren't. Their voices shaky, but that was understandable. "Alright everyone, when my partner secures the cars," he said pointing to Johnny at the top, "We're going to take one person out at a time. There's a crew setting up under us as we speak." Roy quickly counted the people. As he had the radio, he contacted the ground again. "HT 51 to Engine 51, we have ten up here with no injuries. What's the status of the snorkel?"

Stanley answered back, "We copy your ten, 110's setting up the snorkel now, they should be about 10 feet directly below you. It'll be four trips with ten people." Stanley added. The Captain from 110 also copied the message, agreeing with the statement of four trips.

Roy pushed the antennae back in place and shoved the radio into a pocket on his coat. He glanced up at Johnny, who was now walking back towards him, coaster secured. Now that Roy knew the cars weren't going anywhere, he walked down to the back car. He clipped his harness onto the steps railing and shone the light at the person. He knew Johnny was setting up work lines behind him. Next, he pulled a key out of his pocket. The key was given to him by the park supervisor. It released the roller coaster safety harness. When Roy put it in the slot, the bar sprang up, freeing the man. The rider began to hyperventilate. "Calm down Sir, we've got you." Roy calmed the man. "I'm going to slip this around your waist here." Roy helped the man move around the harness. Just as he fastened the last clasp, he heard Johnny come up behind him, clipping him and the hyperventilating man to the secured work line he set up behind the two.

They got the first two people free and began individually lowering them to the snorkel. "That's it," Roy coaxed. "Almost there". Roy was thankful when the man reached the snorkel's floor ten feet below, he wasn't light. As 110's crew secured his harness to the snorkel, Johnny wiped his forehead.

The snorkel crew yelled up, "We can take three next trip if we have another harness. We'll grab one when we're down there." Since Roy was at the edge, he waved his hand signifying he heard them.

When the first group of two people were safely being lowered to the ground, John and Roy took the free time to check their lines. They had a rope line for lowering victims, a backup lowering line, and their work line. The work line was one they were constantly attached too, in case they fell. It gave them more flexibility than the railing. Johnny checked the knots, making sure all of their movement wasn't loosening it. John could feel Roy's gaze and he shot up a thumbs up, indicating the line was good. While John checked the knots, he could hear his partner talking to the still remaining stuck roller coaster patrons. "Once the snorkel gets back up here, we're going to take three next. We'll continue working from the back up, okay?" As Roy looked at the people still strapped, one face caught Roy's attention. He looked at her shockingly, quickly masking his reaction as he turned around. He wasn't sure if the woman had recognized him. "_What are the odds of her showing up again." _he thought, hoping Johnny could handle it after reading the letter.


	15. Chapter Fifteen

**Chapter Fifteen**

Roy heard his radio crackle in his pocket, he pulled it out and raised the antenna. "HT 51, please repeat."

"Snorkel 110 to HT 51, we're ready for another load, we've brought another harness with us, we'll send it if you drop your line."

"HT 51 we copy." Roy replied, instead of putting it back in his pocket, he clipped it to his harness. "Johnny, you hear?" he asked. Roy decided not to tell him about _her, _letting him find out on his own_. _

"Yep, that's great." He was taking another count and thinking about how they would unload people now with access to three harnesses. The light on his helmet shined on the people as he looked over them. Suddenly, the moving light froze. It froze on her. Roy noticed and stopped what he was doing, walking over to his partner, putting his hand on his shoulder. Johnny visibly jumped, then turned to face Roy. Roy squinted at the light. "Sorry." John murmured, covering the light.

Roy lowered his voice, "You okay? Can you keep going?" Johnny swallowed then nodded.

"Let's get outta here." he said, his voice steady.

"I'm gonna drop the line for the harnesses, you wanna get the next person out?" Roy suggested. John nodded and they went about their tasks.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Soon, another trio of people were successfully on their way to the ground. The next group included _her._ When the snorkel returned and the harnesses were ready, Roy walked up to her car. He politely inquired their names, repeating his process.

"My name's Jane, and this is Paul." Jane said, introducing the two.

Roy nodded, "We'll get you out first Paul, since you're closer to me." Now talking to Paul directly he said. "I'm going to undo the bar and then we're going to put you in a harness okay?" Paul shakily nodded as Roy used the key to loosen the bar. He had Paul lean forward and put his arms over Roy's neck as Roy strapped the harness. "You're doing great Paul." Roy said encouragingly, when he felt the man shaking. When the last buckle was done, he said "You're secured and not gonna fall, my partner tied the ropes." he added, hoping the lame joke would cheer the man. It didn't, he kept shaking. Roy felt John behind him, holding another harness for Jane. As Roy coaxed Paul out of the roller coaster car, John took Paul's hands and helped him stand on the steps next to the tracks.

"Stand here for a second," John said. He watched as Paul clutched the railing separating him and the 130-foot drop. "You'll be fine, the harness will keep you from falling."

Johnny looked up at Roy, he was helping Jane into a harness and out of her seat. He started breathing quicker, then told himself to stop and focus. He took a deep breath, thankful his partner was getting Jane out. He wasn't sure if she had recognized them, or if she even would. _"I suppose I would be touch preoccupied if I were stuck at the top of a roller coaster."_ he admitted. He ignored all his emotions and focused on the task at hand. He double checked that Paul's harness was clipped to their work line before turning around to help Roy.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Jane followed the firefighter's instructions, she thought he looked familiar, but couldn't place him. Out of her seat, she was feeling a bit exposed. The wind blew against her face, making her feel as though she would be blown right off. She grasped the hand of the firefighter, the light from his helmet blinding her. She looked down at his shoes, trying to clear her vision. She felt him grab the back of her harness and she felt more secure, _"He's not going to let me fall." _She thought. He helped her walk her over to Paul and clipped her harness onto a rope line. Paul looked at Jane in fear, thankful a familiar face was nearby. The man with the helmet light double checked her and Paul's harness before turning back away. As he turned away, she recognized his profile as her own. "It's him." she breathed. _"I wonder if he knows it's me…" _she thought.

"What?" Paul asked.

"It's the guy that showed up when…" she trailed off, holding her hand up. Paul nodded. She hadn't told anyone else of her discovery, wishing to keep it to herself. She wondered if John Gage had recognized her.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

John reached out and grabbed another person from Roy, "That's the last one for this group Roy." he reminded his partner. Roy nodded and followed the rescued and the rescuer. There were now three nervous looking people standing in harnesses and awaiting instructions. Roy and Johnny glanced at each other, making sure they were on the same page. They were. Roy updated the snorkel crew and Johnny switched the one man's line from the secure line, to the lowering line. "Ready Roy?" he asked, as he put the rope through the pulley system for the eighth time that night. Roy raised his hand to John as a yes and John began explaining what was going to happen. Soon the roller coaster rider was over the railing and safely with the snorkel's cage. Johnny moved his attention to Jane. "Okay Jane," he said voice steady, "I'm gonna switch your line from this one," he held the rope in his hand, "To this one. This one's attached to a pulley so Roy an' I can lower you to the snorkel. It's about ten feet below us okay?" She nodded timidly. John noted that if she had recognized him, she didn't let it show. Until.

"Thanks John." John looked up at her and covered the light on his helmet.

"Hello again." he said somewhat awkwardly.

"Hey." she said back looking down.

"Sorry we're meeting like this again." he said as he switched her rope lines, back to work. She began to reply but John cut her off, he was strictly business. "Roy and I are going to lower you down now. Don't thrash around and don't touch any of the ropes except this one." he said rather seriously pointing at the rope she could touch. She nodded and watched as he handled the ropes without any hesitation, he was clearly comfortable in this crazy environment.


	16. Chapter Sixteen

**Chapter Sixteen**

Jane was slowly descended to what, to her, looked like a cherry picker. She watched as John and his partner lowered her hand over hand from the top of the roller coaster. When she was within arm's reach, the other firefighters reached out for her, grabbing onto her harness. They disconnected the massive clip from the rope line and secured it to the rails of the snorkel. Then they tugged on the rope once and it disappeared. Paul joined her moments later. One of the two firefighters reached for a radio. "Snorkel 110 to HT 51, we're loaded and ready to go."

"Copy 110, we've got two more victims and one of us left." Jane recognized her cousin's partner on the radio. She looked over to Paul, he was gripping the railing and was pale as a ghost.

"It's okay Paul, they're not going to let us fall." Paul looked over at her and nodded. Jane noticed they were slowly moving towards the ground. She looked out at the view over Los Angeles.

A firefighter saw her looking, "Pretty nice view huh?" he asked her.

"It's beautiful." Jane agreed. She looked at the top of the coaster again, John was easily identified as he had the light on his helmet. He seemed to be readjusting the ropes, again. Minutes passed and they made it to solid earth. Paul, the other man, and Jane were carefully assisted to the ground. Three firefighters with 51 on their helmets took their harnesses off and tossed them back up to the snorkel crew. Very quickly, the snorkel started lifting back into the air, they were a well-oiled team. The man who helped take her harness off, looked at her. He stopped in his tracks and gasped. "Thanks," she said awkwardly while the man's jaw brushed the ground.

The firefighter shook himself, "I'm sorry ma'am, you just look like Jo-"

"John Gage, yeah."

The man obviously looked shaken but recovered and said. "Don't go anywhere yet, our medics want to check everyone out before you leave." He walked towards Paul, who was sitting on the curb. She followed the mustached firefighter to sit next to her friend.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

"Cap," Chet said, getting the man's attention. Captain Stanley's gaze turned from the top of the roller coaster, "What's up Kelly?"

Chet bit back a witty response of "Johnny and Roy are." and replied seriously, "Look at that lady over there and tell me what you see." Chet pointed with his chin to the curb. Hank looked where his lineman was pointing. He saw the lady in question illuminated by a street lamp, his own jaw dropped. He recovered quicker than Chet.

"That's, that's uncanny." he said.

"They've got to be related, how come Gage has never mentioned her?"

"I don't know pal, but we're respecting his privacy, got it?" His request turning into an order at the last two words. Chet nodded and went back to help Marco watch over the freed riders. The frantic supervisor running around them, getting their names and information, and repeatedly apologizing.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Marco had his eye on one of the rescued men sitting on the curb. He looked pale, was breathing quickly, and sweating. Unfortunately, the man went to stand as Marco began making his way over to him. Shortly after standing, he passed out. The lady sitting next to him unable to catch him in time. He fell to the ground, his head hitting the pavement with an audible crack. Marco called out over his shoulder, "Cap!" he yelled, getting Stanley's attention.

Hank took one look at the unconscious man Marco was crouching next to and spoke into his radio, "Engine 51 to HT 51, someone's passed out down here, what's your ETA?" Captain Stanley asked.

"ETA for one of us is about five minutes. All the victims are loaded. One of us will repel to the snorkel, the other's gonna walk down with the rest of the equipment. Get some vitals, you can transmit them to Rampart if you want." Roy's voice came back through the radio.

"We copy, we'll transmit vitals to Rampart, you, an' call for an ambulance." Captain Stanley motioned Mike over, "Go grab the drugbox and the biophone." Stoker took one look at the man on the ground and jogged over, gathering the requested items.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Marco, at the man's side, asked "What's his name ma'am?" looking up at her for an answer. When he saw her face clearly, he sharply inhaled. "Ay dios mio." he whispered under his breath.

Her answer brought him back to the circumstances. "Paul." She added, "He was nervous to ride the roller coaster and freaked out when it got stuck. He was calm until we got on the ground a few minutes ago." Marco nodded, rolling the man onto his left side waiting for help. Inwardly, he wondered if the woman was related to Gage in anyway. _"The only difference between the two is she's white." _he thought while counting respirations. Mike soon showed up with the drugbox and biophone. He passed the biophone to Chet and opened up the drugbox, getting out a BP cuff and stethoscope. Chet set up the biophone and plugged in the antennae. When Mike had a complete set of vitals, Chet wrote them down on a slip of paper he found inside the orange case. He took a breath to concentrate and called Rampart.

"Rampart this is Engine 51." After hearing a slightly confused reply from the hospital, he continued, "Be advised, we have no access to a paramedic at this time. We have a male patient, approximate age of late twenties. He was rescued from a stuck roller coaster and passed out a few minutes ago. He's still unconscious." Chet rattled off the vitals and waited for Rampart's reply.

"When will you have access to a medic?" a man asked over the biophone, the voice no longer confused. Chet looked up at Mike, he shrugged. Chet rolled his eyes and gave a generic answer. "Search the man for any injuries and keep us updated." Rampart advised.

"10-4" Chet said, answering the orders and putting the phone back in the box. "Can you see how long Roy or Johnny'll be?" he asked. Mike got up from kneeling on the ground and went to find Hank.


	17. Chapter Seventeen

**Chapter Seventeen**

Roy had drawn the short straw. He grumpily watched the snorkel descend with his partner. "I'm never gonna make it down before shift change." he muttered as he carefully walked down the steep incline. He listened intently to the radio as he walked. Mike was giving vitals of the man that passed out. Roy didn't like them, but he also worried about his partner, how was he doing?

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Johnny tapped his foot impatiently while the snorkel descended. He had been listening to the vitals the engine crew were taking and he didn't like them. Finally, the snorkel reached the ground. Johnny unclipped his harness from the snorkel rails and slipped out, leaving the crew to assist the last two riders. He jogged over to where he saw Chet, Marco, and Mike kneeling. Shedding his helmet and gloves, he asked if there was any change. Chet, who was holding the piece of paper with all the vitals, shook his head. "He fell and hit his head." Marco said. John frowned as he kneeled on the ground looking at the man. He looked around for injuries and found a hematoma to the back of his head.

"Pass me a pen light?" John asked as he looked at the man's face. He recognized the face as the man who was sitting next to Jane, _"Of course it's someone she knows."_ he thought inwardly cursing his luck. "His name's Paul, right?" he asked anyone who was listening. He received four yeses. "Let me see the biophone." He said blindly reaching his hand out. When the receiver was in his hand, he spoke confidently into it. "Rampart, this is Gage on 51's, I'm now available. It looks like a vasovagal syncopal episode with a fall and head trauma. There's a hematoma to the posterior of the head, eyes are equal but sluggish." The three firefighters were relieved that someone who knew what they were talking about was back. After John received orders from Rampart, he sent Mike and Marco off to check everyone else out. "Hey Chet, can you grab me an IV kit?" he asked.

"Is he going to be okay?" Jane asked timidly from the side. She didn't want to bother the calm medic and firefighter, but was worried about her friend.

John stopped what he was doing and looked up at her. "We're talking to a doctor right now and we'll take him in to get checked out." he said to her. He looked up at Chet, "Chet, did Cap send for an ambulance?" Kelly nodded his head. "Good." John looked back down and started looking for a vein. He continued to shove all of the letter's content to the back of his mind.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Jane was worried for her friend. He was lying on the ground almost motionless, aside from his breathing. She watched John tie a rubber rope around Paul's arm, and then she saw a needle in his hand. She inhaled sharply. The firefighter, presumably named Chet, turned to her and said, "Don't worry, John's the best in the business, apart from Roy o' course." By the time Jane looked back, the needle was gone, only the tubing remaining. She was impressed at how comfortable John looked with all the medical equipment, as well as with the ropes. She had been watching the others use the equipment, they were competent but not confident. The two other men he sent away came back. John looked up for a moment and raised his eyebrows expectantly. As they talked to him, he began checking Paul over head to toe. She was again impressed at how he could multitask, assessing one patient and listening to eight other sets of vital signs.

"I'm fine with everyone else going home, tell them to call if they feel off." Johnny said while he checked Paul's pupils again, frowning as he did so. Jane copied him, frowning when he did. In her book, it was never good when a medical professional frowned. In the distance, a siren could be heard. "Hey, tell Roy not to rush huh?" he said to one of the men in blue. He had a smirk on his face, but Jane could feel the sentiment.

"Can I come along?" she shakily asked John.

John looked at her, almost evaluating her in a way. "You can sit up front." He finally said, she nodded.

Chet led her to the front seat of the ambulance and made sure she was wearing her seatbelt. He walked back to Johnny, "She's all set. She looks exactly like you." he pointed out.

"I know." Johnny said, taking a deep breath. Chet was aware John knew more than he was saying. He opened his mouth, but then remembered Captain Stanley's order.

"Take care huh?" Chet offered as Johnny walked behind the stretcher.

A distracted, "Yeah" came from the experienced medic. Chet frowned as the ambulance drove away.


	18. Chapter Eighteen

**Chapter Eighteen**

Roy finally reached the ground. He was met by the questioning faces of all his shift mates. "What?" he asked, forgetting _she _was up there. Remembering, "Oh," he said as he dropped the ropes to give his arms a break, "You met _her._" he stated.

Four faces stared at him, "You know about her?" they asked in unison.

"That's not for me to answer, John'll have to tell you." He picked up his ropes again and walked to the squad, hoping to stay on the ground for the rest of the shift.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Chet, along with his crew, watched the heavy-laden medic walk toward the squad. There was a thunk as he dropped everything he was carrying. The four firefighters stood still for a moment until, "Alright boys, let's get outta here." Cap ordered. They waved as the snorkel drove off, it's firefighters tiredly waving back. Chet trudged to Big Red, he pulled his helmet and coat off, temporarily hanging them on the outside handle. He rolled his shoulders and let his mind wander as he waited for his fellow engine mates. As he thought, he stepped up into his seat, grabbing his coat and helmet behind him. _"Johnny seemed pretty focused, but unnerved. I could tell." _He rested his elbow on the open window looking out. "Who is she?" he asked out loud.

"I don't know Chet." Marco's voice appeared to his right. "He seemed, beuno, si?" He asked in Spanglish. Chet shook his head.

"Ready guys?" Mike interrupted from the driver's seat.

Chet looked up in surprise, "When did you guys get here?"

"You were pretty spaced out pal, you good?" Hank asked.

"Just confused and worried. Johnny acting weirder than normal, his apparent twin." he huffed. "I just want to know what the hell is going on!" he burst out. Marco looked at him, blinking in surprise.

"We all do, Kelly." Captain Stanley said sharing Chet's emotion, but subtly reminding Chet of where they were with the use of his last name. "Let's go home Mike."

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Roy pulled the squad into Rampart and parked it. He stepped out, thankful to be harness and coat free. Running his hand through his hair he walked through the doors up to the nurse's counter. Dixie's head shot up when she heard the doors open. A smile graced her face when she saw Roy turn the corner. "Took you long enough." she said fondly.

"Yeah, well you try climbing up 130 feet, lowering ten people, walking 130 feet back down, and then packing all the equipment by yourself."

"I'm sorry I said anything." she said putting her hands up in mock annoyance.

"Sorry, I don't like high ropes rescues. They're too high up, give me water anytime." He looked around, "Any chance you've seen John?" he asked hopefully. "I'm ready for bed."

"Your partner's got a friend," she said in a concerned tone. "They're talking in the lounge." She sounded worried now, "Isn't she the same-"

"Yeah," Roy said cutting her off with a grim smile, "Thanks." Clearly stating that the topic was not open for discussion as he walked away. She frowned as he left, not angry but worried.

Dr. Early cut him off as he was walking, "You'll be glad to hear he'll be fine."

"Who?" Roy asked, too busy worrying about what state he would find his partner in.

"Your syncope guy?" Early questioned, obviously looking Roy over for an injury.

"Oh right, good good." Roy replied. "I didn't treat him," he explained, "I was on top of a roller coaster." He stole a glance at the break room door.

"Ah." Early replied. Joe saw him looking and smiled, "I hear Johnny's got a friend in there." he said, clearly oblivious to the nature of this 'friend'.

"Yeah," Roy said, "I know." he chuckled, "I'd like to get to bed at some point ya know." he said with a grin, deciding not to explain everything.

"Good luck," Early said, adding chipperly, "See you later."

Finally, at the doctor's lounge, Roy took a breath and knocked on the door. He felt rather ridiculous, no one ever knocked on that door. He glanced around, suddenly nervous in an environment he normally felt comfortable in. Not bothering to wait for a response, he opened the door and walked in. His partner, and his partner's 'twin' were sitting at a table, both clutching a mug of coffee as if their lives depended on it. Roy quickly evaluated Johnny. He looked uncomfortable, but otherwise fine. Roy noticed, with slight amusement, that Johnny was still wearing his harness. "Plan on climbing any more roller coasters tonight junior?" he asked, for now ignoring Jane. He wanted a work-related reaction out of John. John's response would dictate if he was still mentally fit for work.

"Oh." he said, sheepishly looking down. He stood up, loosened, and stepped out of his newly updated harness. "Not really." he said methodically re-wrapping it. Roy decided he was fine when the harness was automatically folded without thought. Johnny continued, "I know you've met before, but Roy, this is my cousin Jane. Jane, this is my partner Roy." The word 'cousin' sounded foreign on Johnny's lips.

"Your friend's gonna be alright by the way. I spoke to Early, his Doctor I mean." Roy said after politely nodding his head in greeting.

"Thanks." she said, nervously readjusting the grip on her mug.

"He woke up on the way in." Johnny said, filling Roy in. "I'm pretty sure he just vasovagaled and fell."

Suddenly, the radio keyed them up, _"Squad 51, what's your status?" _Roy glanced at Johnny, who quickly nodded his consent, and Roy answered.

"Squad 51, we're available from Rampart."The calm voice of the dispatcher responded, then remained silent

"We've got to head back." Roy said. Johnny drank the rest of his mug and reached his hand out for Jane's nearly empty one.

"You can't stay in here when we're gone, it's for staff only." Johnny said apologetically, putting the mugs in the sink.

"I understand. Can, can we meet tomorrow?" she asked hesitantly. "I'm free after five."

"That would be great." Johnny said, "I'll pick you up at your hotel?" he offered as he opened the door for her and Roy.

"That sounds good, it's the Red-"

"We know where it is." John said with a slight smile, glancing at her hand.

She looked down, blushing. "Oh, right." she said in a small voice. Roy and John walked her to the waiting room. Dixie observed the sight with a smile, pleased that John looked happy now instead of, well, constipated. "See you tomorrow John?" Jane asked confirming.

"Tomorrow at five thirty." He smiled and walked out of the ER, shoulder to shoulder with Roy.


	19. Chapter Nineteen

_A/N Hello all, thank you all for reading! It's been a blast reading reviews and I'm happy people have enjoyed the story I had so much fun writing. I haven't individually responded, but I've read every one, so thank you! As a warning, this chapter does contain a sporadic f-bomb, which haven't been in other chapters. Also, this is the last one. Again, I can't thank you enough for hanging in there and reading all the way through. I've had this story written for quite a while and I am excited to have finally shared it. Happy reading!_

**Chapter Nineteen**

Roy backed the squad into the bay. After filling out appropriate paperwork, they headed for the day room, wanting something to drink. They found the entire engine crew sitting at the table, waiting. Their own seats empty with two full steaming mugs. Marco explained the contents when they looked questioningly at them from a distance. "It's Mama Lopez's tea." They nodded in understanding.

The two medics stayed in the doorway and looked at each other, having a silent conversation. _"They want an explanation." _Roy silently said to his partner.

"_I know, they deserve one." _John voicelessly replied. Johnny took the initiative and sat down in 'his' chair, thankfully holding the warm mug and glancing at Marco in gratitude. "I'm sure you're all curious." he started cautiously.

Four faces replied with looks of _"Ya think?"_

John looked down at his mug. After taking a gulp of the warm contents he said, "_She's_ my cousin.'' He waited a moment for his shiftmates to compose themselves. After a moment, he continued. "I've never talked about my childhood. It wasn't fantastic." He looked up at Roy, who nodded encouragingly. "You know I was raised on a reservation-" Johnny looked at Chet, daring him to make a joke. The phantom remained silent. "-In Montana. My Aunt ran away when I was about five." He waited for his bristling teammates to settle again. "She ran away because she was pregnant." He stopped to take another sip of the tea, enjoying its taste. "So, apparently, I have a cousin. Neither of us knew we existed since our last shift." Johnny looked up and observed the reactions. Chet looked like he was about to be ill, Mike looked pained, Marco was muttering under his breath in rapid fire Spanish, and Cap was tight lipped. Roy smiled grimly in support. "So, uh, that's who _she _is. And why I don't talk about myself." Johnny said, story time over. He left a lot unsaid, but his crew was able to piece it together. John finished the rest of his tea, thanked Marco, who was still speechless, and left.

"What, the actual, fuck." Mike said when Gage was gone, truly showing his feelings. He rarely, if ever, cursed. Cap was surprised at Mike's colorful choice of language, but could hardly reprimand him as they were in a safe environment and he shared the same sentiment.

Roy stayed at the table to give John some privacy. Chet was the first to look up and say, "Is he serious?" he asked in disbelief. Not because he didn't believe his friend, but because he was still shocked.

Roy nodded and sighed. "Meeting her hit him pretty hard. He clearly had no intentions of talking about his past. Ever. He didn't even tell me. Looking back, it makes a lot of sense." he added as an afterthought. Everyone nodded thoughtfully.

"Is the letter related?" Marco asked, remembering rumors and teasing from D shift that morning.

"_She_ dropped it off." Stanley said, making the connection Captain Dennis wrote about.

"Jane, her name's Jane." Roy supplied, hoping to stop the use of _'She'_. He finished his cup of tea and took his and John's empty mug to the sink. He bade his goodnight, leaving the stewing engine crew alone. In the bunkroom, he didn't talk to his partner, still respecting his space.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Chet watched Roy leave, still unable to move from his spot. Thinking about the past, he felt terrible about teasing John and joking about his heritage. Not understanding his background and abuse. Images of abused children he had seen as a firefighter and as a vet in Vietnam plagued his mind. He bounced his leg, needing some type of movement to dispel the tension. He noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. It was Mike, getting up to get a glass of water. The entire engine crew was too wired to go to bed.

"I knew something was up." Mike finally ventured. "He got here before me this morning." He said, sitting back down with his glass. Marco and Chet's eyebrow's rose in surprise. They all knew Mike got there very, very early. "There's only one thing we can do." Mike said, surprising everyone with a solution, they looked at him expectantly. "Nothing." He said, clasping his hands on the table. Hank agreed, nodding silently.

"Si." Marco approved after a moment. Stanley, Mike, and Marco agreed. They looked up in concern at Chet, he was staring at his empty mug, his mind a million miles away. "Chet?" Marco said, suddenly worried at the quietness of his line partner.

"Huh?" Chet responded, shaking himself.

"Do you agree?" Mike asked. Chet looked around, realizing everyone was staring at him.

"Agree to what?" he asked, looking back down at his tea.

"Act as if nothing happened, to not walk on eggshells around John." Hank summarized.

"That is the best way." Chet said with an air of finality. Marco looked up at him, worried.

"He's still Johnny, Chet." Marco softly said. "Nothing's changed." Chet nodded, looking up. The rest of the A shift determined that no matter what Johnny, their family member, would go through, they were right there with him.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Joann woke to a phone ringing instead of her alarm clock. Internally she panicked. Receiving phone calls at odd hours was never good if you were a firefighter's spouse. She cleared her throat and picked up the phone. Roy's voice was on the line. "Morning Jo," he said, sounding tired, but not 'zombie-esque'. There was some worry in his voice, but not enough to stress over, yet.

"Mornin'." she said, her voice scratchy with sleep.

"Did I wake you, I'm sorry," he apologized. "I thought your alarm clock had gone off by now." In the background, Roy could hear ringing and flinched in sympathy.

"It is now, what's up?" she asked. Roy rarely called before coming home.

She got up, dressed, and decided on pancakes. Their normal school morning routine was cereal and orange juice. Chris came down the stairs, dragging his backpack behind him. Jen came flying down, racing in front of him. "Mommy, can I have cinnamon cereal this morning?" she eagerly asked.

"No," she paused, raising her hand in an attempt to stop an argument before it started. "We're having pancakes because Uncle Johnny is coming over." she waited for the inevitable explosion of happiness. There wasn't one.

Chris stopped dragging his backpack and looked at Jen, who nodded sincerely. "Is Dad or Uncle Johnny hurt?" he asked tentatively for both of them.

Joann was taken aback, "They're fine, Uncle Johnny's just coming over for breakfast." She looked at them, wondering when they became so wise.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Johnny squirmed in his seat while driving to Roy and Joann's. _"I'm meeting with my cousin in less than twelve hours." _He couldn't tell if he was excited, nervous, or upset. He decided on all three. Pulling up in 'his spot', he parked his car and followed his partner into the garage, closing the door behind them. When he and Roy walked into the kitchen, Chris and Jenny ran at them full speed. Jenny for Roy and Chris for Johnny. Both kids yelled out "Daddy!" and "Uncle Johnny!" Joann smiled at them, flipping a pancake.

"Morning boys." she said with a smile on her face. Roy carried Jenny to her seat at the table, and Chris followed behind. Everyone sat down, soon followed by Joann with a plate piled high with pancakes. Johnny looked around the table, the table at which he was lucky to be called Uncle, partner, family. He looked at Roy with gratitude, knowing his best friend and his family would be there no matter what the future held. Roy returned John's face with a smile, his smile upholding a promise.


End file.
